In a matter that was tabled at the Council meeting on January 11th, West Easton Borough Council voted Monday to increase the donation this year to the Safety First Volunteer Fire Company. It was tabled to give time for Safety First to provide information on what their operating expenses were in 2015.
A $15,000 donation was approved by Council, up from $10,000 that had been given in previous years. With all but the month of December’s operating expenses provided (Safety First’s December’s bills weren’t all in) and those expenses nearly $14,000, the Council determined that the increase was justified and it was passed unanimously by a 5-0 vote (Councilmen Niko and T. Nodoline absent).
A donation to Safety First has been an ongoing tradition for many decades and has been done to cover operating expenses of the Fire Company. Any operating expenses of their social club is not included.
Mayor Gross noted that donations began long ago, when Council used to supply new hoses for a small fire truck each year. Eventually, they had more than enough hoses and a monetary donation was then given, so they could purchase other needed equipment throughout the year.
West Easton is fortunate to have a volunteer fire company and $15,000 pales in comparison to the Borough running its own fire department, which would, like the situation of trying to have a full-time police department, not be monetarily feasible.
Mayor Gross stated that our neighboring community, Glendon Borough, which has no volunteer fire company, was told they would have to pay $200,000/yr to contract for services with The City of Easton.
So, thank your Safety First Volunteers. We are lucky to have them.
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.
