Safety First Volunteer Fire Company (SFVFC) is seeking $70,000 from West Easton next year, as requested by Fire Chief Bill Bogari, Jr., at the October 14 Council Meeting.
Chief Bogari provided 2018 documentation of the fire company’s expenditures, along with his presentation for the need of additional money. He provided information on the amount of money received from outside sources and where the money is spent.
The year-to-date costs for SFVFC, thus far in 2019, has been approximately $79,000. In 2018, total costs exceeded $97,000.
In September of 2018, the Safety Committee met with Chief Bogari and other fire company officers to discuss the need for additional monetary support from the Borough of West Easton.
The Safety Committee Minutes of that meeting, which was open to the public, can be found HERE.
In 2019 the borough raised it’s annual donation to $20,000 and additionally, paid for a portion of SFVFC’s insurance coverage.
The borough donating additional money to SFVFC, beyond the normal one-time donation at the beginning of each year, is something not seen in the previous history of West Easton, as the SFVFC used to have it’s major costs of operation funded by the Safety First Social Club (SFSC) and the Ladies Auxiliary.
In the last few years the SFSC has been contributing little, if any, significant amount of money to support the SFVFC, as was their primary mission when it was created, according to Bogari.
The SFSC, now controlled by a Supervisory Board consisting of club members from New Jersey, has apparently mismanaged the club so poorly that rumors are it is near folding. The general consensus among the majority of social club members, those from New Jersey and outside West Easton, is that supporting the SFVFC is a bother, rather than a primary responsibility.
For the last few years it has fallen upon the Ladies Auxiliary to provide the majority of support to the SFVFC in paying many of their bills and that was only achieved when control of bingo was transferred from the Social Club, to The Ladies Auxiliary in 2016.
The Ladies Auxiliary’s main mission is also to support the SFVFC and they have been doing their part, while resisting pressure from the SFSC to contribute to them, as well.
The Ladies Auxiliary just expended $34,100 toward SFVFC, so filters could be replaced on fire fighting equipment.
However, bingo money generated by The Ladies Auxiliary only goes so far in covering the bills for SFVFC.
Unlike police coverage, the borough is required by law to provide fire coverage for residents, either through their own fire department, or by contracting with another municipality.
Chief Bogari has formally started the process of separating the SFVFC from the SFSC and will then look into consolidating the SFVFC with another local community.
Fire departments, according to Chief Bogari, are seeking to separate from social clubs because their social clubs have become less of a support to the fire department, as they are to running a bar.
Chief Bogari hopes that should a consolidation, or merger occur, the Ladies Auxiliary will remain a support organization to our fire company.
It is likely West Easton Council will approve the increased donation and details will be worked out regarding how the donation is made (lump sum, quarterly, as needed, etc.) and reports made to Council of the how the donation is being spent.
Meanwhile, The Finance Committee will also be figuring the increased donation into the 2020 budget for West Easton. The budget will be presented to Council for a vote before the end of this year, following its advertising and public viewing time frames.
While the question of a “Fire Tax” was raised by Mayor DePaul, rather than a donation, residents can be confident that no such tax will be imposed. While a Fire Tax is a legal tax that municipalities can use, it offers no ability for Council to see how the money is spent by a fire department that directly receives the tax money raised.
As a full disclosure, I intend to vote for approval of the requested $70,000 donation if included in next year’s budget, as it will be far less expensive than contracting fire services with a neighboring community.
The video recording of Chief Bogari’s presentation, including questions and comments from Council and the public can be viewed below.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
