After numerous meetings with the City of Clearwater regarding the new fire contract have failed to yield results, Clearwater and Lynden Twps. are looking into the feasibility of starting their own fire department.

The original contract states that the first 33% of expenditures would be divided equally between the three entities, and the remaining 67% would be divided by the call report (which areas the fire calls originated from). Historically the City of Clearwater has had roughly 50% of the calls, while the townships have had around 25% of the calls each.

The city wants to use a property value formula going forward however, the townships would like the contract to remain call based as it has worked well in the past and appears to be the fairest for all parties. They’re unsure why that formula was abandoned.

Along with the large increase in the fire contract in January, Clearwater approved the purchase of an $800,000 fire engine; both townships informed the city they weren’t in favor of the purchase.

“We’re thankful for the firefighters, the department and the good service,” said Clearwater Twp. Supervisor Scott Miller. “But we have our own people to answer to, we need to protect our taxpayers and the future of our budget. We can’t be hit with large increases that we can’t control year after year.”

A basic feasibility study has already been conducted, and after reviewing the results the townships feel they could go out on their own for the same cost.

“We’ve already done the preliminary work and even have the property for a fire hall available,” said Miller. “We’re pretty confident we can provide the same fire coverage with less impact on our taxpayers, but unfortunately city residents may see significant tax hikes.”

Clearwater and Lynden Twps. are planning to meet in the near future to discuss forming a study group to explore options the townships have, including a joint fire department between them.

“I think everyone agrees that working together with the city would be our best option,” said Plaggerman. “But the budget seems to be a bit excessive at first glance with no signs of getting better.”

“We’d like to see everyone working together; it’s in the best interest of all of us,” said Miller. “We’re all watching our budgets and want the best department for the money. But we already took 10% out of our general fund last year to pay toward the unexpected rise in the 2020 budget. Now we’re being asked to come up with 30% more.”

Because Clearwater Twp. was able to absorb the increase in last year’s fire budget, they were able to keep their levy flat; that wouldn’t be the case this year.

“We’ve had numerous meetings and presented different scenarios to make this work,” said Clearwater Twp. Chairman Bill Langenbacher. “But the city has pretty much made up their minds and are not willing to negotiate further. We had high hopes at our last meeting but once again nothing came out of it.”

Miller expressed concern about the city’s ability to fund the fire department on their own should Clearwater and Lynden Twps pull out of the fire contract. But while both townships stress they’re not looking to put the city in a difficult place, the fact of their fire contract potentially doubling over a four-year period is difficult to agree to.

In 2017, Lynden Twp.’s portion of the fire contract was $54,583. In 2018 it jumped to $72,816, and in 2019 the amount originally requested was $84,529, which was renegotiated with a temporary new formula to $71,728.

The amount originally requested from Lynden Twp. by the city for 2020 was $112,771; it was later reduced to $109,728. This was before the purchase of the new fire engine. Clearwater Twp.’s numbers are similar.

Both townships postponed voting on the 2021 levy at their annual meetings in March, hoping the fire contract would be signed soon. Clearwater Twp. is reconvening that portion of their meeting on June 16 at 7:30 p.m. Lynden Twp.’s meeting is scheduled for September.