As part of a $316,000 project to replace air packs at the Ono and Jonestown stations of the Northern Lebanon Fire and Emergency Services (NLFES), the three member municipalities of East Hanover Township, Jonestown Borough, and Union Township are splitting the costs.
NLFES budgetary deficits are typically split per capita between the municipalities.
East Hanover Township supervisors confirmed their own $71,775 contribution towards the air packs at the township’s per capita rate at their June 27 meeting using funds from the American Rescue Act (ARA).
Union Township also contributed at its per capita rate in the amount of $79,411, also using ARA funds.
As LebTown previously reported, the Jonestown Borough Council had voted at its June meeting to support the purchase in the amount of $25,000 using funds.
Read More: Jonestown Borough donates $25,000 to NLFES towards purchase of air packs
Jonestown’s contribution fell about $24,000 short of its assessed per capita amount of approximately $49,000, a shortfall that will be made up by an additional contribution by NLFES. NLFES had already planned to contribute $116,000 of its own funds to the project, bringing the department’s total contribution for the air packs up to about $140,000.
Borough council president Tom Keefer said that the mid-budget cycle nature of the request made it financially unfeasible for Jonestown to contribute the full amount, which would have been approximately 10% of the borough’s total annual budget. Keefer said that for NLFES’ budgeted expenses, such as workers’ compensation insurance or apparatus purchases, the borough has paid its share and will continue to do so. The air packs were a little different because they came up in the middle of a budget year, Keefer said.
Keefer noted that the borough was able to divert ARA money from being put towards a larger Market Street renovation project and instead contribute to the air packs. “If it would have been budgeted and we had time to plan for that, we probably could have given them the full amount,” said Keefer, adding that if it weren’t for the ARA funds, the borough would have been hard-strapped to contribute at all to the effort.
In addition to municipality support, NLFES commission Rob Taylor said that the department generates its own funds through a number of community-based efforts, including the Perse social club, the Ono Ladies’ Auxiliary, and rental properties managed by the department such as the old fire station on Main Street in Jonestown.
If you are interested in supporting NLFES, watch for upcoming opportunities on their Facebook page.
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Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
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