The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The contract dispute between the Franklin Township Fire District 3 Commissioners and East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department may be headed to a close.
Or it may not.
In a press release issued on October 3 by the District Board of Commissioners’ public relations firm, the Commissioners said that the dispute “has moved closer to resolution with a newly proposed compromise.”
According to the release, the main sticking point in the proposed contract was that the EFVFD “objected to the removal of language that gave the fire company the power to override policies enacted by the Fire Commissioners—an authority not granted to any other fire company in Franklin Township.”
“This provision, unique to Fire District 3, undermined the authority of the Fire Commissioners, who are elected to represent the interests of taxpayers,” according to the press release. “The new contract, which the other volunteer fire company in Fire District 3 accepted, seeks to correct this imbalance and bring Fire District 3’s agreement with its volunteer fire companies in line with the rest of the township’s fire companies.”
Fire District 3 is comprised of two departments, EFVFD and Community Volunteer Fire Department.
The contract, which expired in April, has been extended several times since then. The current expiration date was September 30, but has been extended until an agreement is reached.
Commission Chairman Sherrod Middleton has said in the past that if the two sides cannot come to an agreement, the Commission would take possession of EFVFD’s apparatus and fire fighting gear, which the District owns, in effect shutting down EFVFD.
The Commissioners have said in the past that they would hire per diem firefighters to take up the slack if that happens.
The fire department owns the fire house, and rents the space to the District for the storage and use of the apparatus.
Fire District 3 serves about 30,000 township residents.
According to the release, “(d)espite the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department’s refusal to sign the contract and its continued push for control over policies, the Board of Commissioners introduced a compromise in the new contract. This compromise stipulates that if the department disagrees with any policy proposed by the Commission, they may appeal the policy to a neutral third party. This provision ensures that both parties have a voice while maintaining the authority of the elected commissioners to act in the best interest of the residents and taxpayers of Franklin Township.”
“We are pleased with the progress made, despite the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department’s attempts to delay the execution of the new contract over a non-existent power struggle,” Middleton said in the release. “Our goal has always been to put the safety of the residents first while ensuring transparency and fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers.”
“After months of unnecessary conflict, we are one step closer to executing a contract that prioritizes the residents and restores proper authority to the Board,” he said in the release.
The Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the modified contract at their October 8 meeting.
East Franklin Chief Dan Krushinski declined to comment until after he discussed the press release and the status of negotiations with his attorney.
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