The controversy around Hiram Village and Hiram Township’s fire departments parting ways continues, with a disagreement about locked fire hydrants becoming a topic of conversation at a recent meeting.
The village used to oversee fire operations for both it and the township. The township, however, has now split off and opened its own fire department in October.
The dispute started at the beginning of the year, when Hiram Village Council voiced concerns about alleged inadequacies in the village fire department’s staffing and coverage. That ultimately led to a mass resignation of staff members, including the former fire chief. Township trustees objected to the decisions made by the village, leading to their decision to open their own department.
Hiram Village Council held a public forum on Oct. 22 to publicly discuss the village fire department's future and to outline the options the department may need to take as a result of the township starting its own fire department.
During the forum, local resident Elena Feather-Faber questioned the panel about two fire hydrants near the Hiram Village water tower that were locked by the water department at the request of Hiram Village council members.
Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam said the hydrants belong to the village and were locked because they were on the village’s list of vulnerable hydrants for water theft.
“It’s a team decision in consult with the solicitor; water department, fire department and police department heads meeting to discuss — that’s how good governance works,” Haynam told The Portager in a text message. “Council President [Chris] Szell also consulted in the process on how to protect an asset that our community relies on. Unregulated and unauthorized use can change pressure and create a host of problems including broken water lines that disrupt water service to residents.”
Hiram Township Trustee Jack Groselle said Haynam installed the locks because she didn’t want the township to use the water.
“She’s the one that asked to have it done, she asked the water department to do it,” Groselle said in a text message to The Portager. “She didn’t want the Hiram township to be able to fill trucks there. But it’s illegal. It’s in the O.R.C. — you’re not allowed to do that. When I called the prosecutor’s office and told him and sent him the pictures, he said I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Our prosecutor said they couldn’t do it. The prosecutor was going to call their solicitor and tell them that it is illegal and to get them off.”
During the Village Council’s forum, Hiram Village Solicitor Luke McConville said there are several other hydrants in the village that can be used by both fire departments.
“There are numerous hydrants available in the event of an emergency that can be immediately accessed, so that while there’s been a concern, there’s no intent to impact the ability of either fire department to respond to emergencies,” McConnville said.
Szell said under ORC 743, a municipality has the right to control its water supply, and Hiram Village Fire Chief Tony Marotta said the state fire chief dismissed installing locks on the hydrants as an issue.
Groselle said there’s a residential home next to the water tower that could be affected if the owners were to need fire services.
“There’s a house right next to it and if that house would go to burn, I think the village would be paying for their house,” Groselle said. “If we were doing a water shuttle we might use those 2 hydrants.”
Haynam said there are other fire hydrants in the village that can be used by the township fire department.
“If they are interested in our water then they can do what other communities do – sign a water use contract and pay for the benefit,” Haynam said. “Then we get a say in which hydrants would be used in order to best protect the safety of our water supply. If the township is concerned about homes in that area during an emergency then there are four hydrants between the tower property and the village that are also owned by the Village that are available. We have received zero communication from the township trustees about using our water. Perhaps they should reach out if finding access to water is a need for the new fire department. We are open to negotiating a water use contract.”
Haynam said the township should have installed a hydrant at its new fire station when the building was constructed.
“The Village waived the fees for tapping into our water service when they built the structure,” Haynam said. “They didn’t put in a big enough line to add a hydrant. Regrets are tough.”
Groselle said the township fire department has a water line to fill trucks up; it’s the tanker shuttles that need access to nearby fire hydrants.
“We can fill with water at our place, but if there was a fire somewhere, if there is a hydrant that is closed, legally it doesn’t matter that it is village water, we can go and tap that hydrant and that’s a fill station then, so they run the tankers that all the departments have in the area,” Groselle said. “You run what’s called a tanker shuttle and they’re just moving water the whole time and the fire trucks at the scene are taking the water out of a portable pool.”
The main purpose of the forum was to share the background of the changes at the village fire department and look to its future.
Szell said the village is faced with three options regarding the future of its fire department. The first is to provide the bare minimum coverage. The second is to enter into a joint district contract for services with the township. And option three is that the village fire department would continue to run its own fire department.
“The first option is a remote option,” Szell said. “If finances are so dire, which they aren’t at this time, they would have to consider how they would support fire and EMS services. Ninety percent of calls are EMS calls, so doing away with EMS seems like a really dire situation, which I do not want the village to get to. Option two: 70% of the cost on the township, 30% of the share would come from the village. But there was no definition for 30% of what number.”
Szell said option two would require the village to pay a larger share than the township tax payers, as well as channel the general fund to the fire department.
“The question is how does the village properly plan for an unknown number,” Szell said. “This means that village residents continue to subsidize township residents. Since 2010, and what has been proposed to us to date through a contract, if you will, with the township, would be that village residents continue to subsidize township residents for fire and EMS, combined. The village has a 5-mill levy for fire and EMS, combined; the township has a 5-mill levy for fire and EMS. However, because the village under the old contract and even under the proposal of 30%, we would be required to pull taxpayer dollars out of our general fund, which we could use for other purposes. The township is not doing that. Tax-paying residents in the village are not only contributing 5 mill based on their property tax value; the village is also taking your income tax that we collect and now moving it to fire and EMS purposes.”
Szell said the issue goes beyond Village Council being faced with a fiduciary decision of whether it can put funds to better use if the village operates its own fire department, or if there is a better option for taxpayers: it’s about safety, accountability and ethics, which he believes can be better served by a fire department run by the village.
Further details of the process are confidential as the village and the township are currently in mediation to negotiate a partnership between the two parties.
“In the interests of having productive conversations with the township through the mediator, I can't really talk in specifics about what’s being negotiated and where the negotiation stands,” McConville said. “I can give you a flavor of the kinds of things that we’re talking about. I can tell you that the parties mutually felt that the first mediation was successful enough to justify a second mediation that is currently scheduled for Oct. 30. The issues that are under discussion are the location of the department, financial issues, of course, leadership, governance, staffing levels, the formation of a district or the inclusion of third-party municipalities has been discussed. I’m not at liberty to comment further on those topics.”