After 30 years, the Tabernacle Fire District may be going up in smoke.
The Tabernacle Township Committee unanimously voted to dissolve the Tabernacle Fire District at its April 28 meeting, marking the beginning of the end of a process that began in late November when a resident presented a petition to do so.
Committee members Kim Brown and Stephen Lee were appointed to a subcommittee by Mayor Joseph Barton in January to investigate the necessity of the district. Both presented their findings at the April meeting.
“Committeeman Lee and I have spent four months doing our due diligence. It’s fair to say we’ve done our homework in arriving at our recommendation. We’ve looked at the fire district’s budget, the bills they’ve paid through the years and the consolidation into the township and the savings it would afford the taxpayers,” Brown said. “Our recommendation to dissolve the district in no way belittles the dedication of the volunteers or fire commissioners.”
Brown was hopeful the decision could bring the township closer together.
“This is an opportunity to take a unified, big picture approach to all of our emergency services. We envision fire as well as EMS leaders and emergency management sitting at the same table discussing real needs and making recommendations to the township committee,” Brown said.
The fire district is governed by five elected commissioners, who are not paid for their service. They oversee a budget of approximately $543,000. The fire district employs three paid professionals: a secretary, an auditor and an attorney. The
Tabernacle Fire District was started in 1984 when a resident presented a petition to the township committee. The committee agreed to start a district and an election was held for positions on the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The resolution to dissolve the district was a late addition to the agenda the township had released, which raised a few residents’ eyebrows.
“This should have been on the agenda,” Kathy Berger said. “A big issue like this that is publicly involved. To save it for tonight at 8:10 is ridiculous. Let’s put it out in the open. This does not look good.”
More than a few residents thanked the committee for reaching a decision even if they did not agree.
“I’m happy to see you’ve come to a consensus one way or the other,” Jason Litowitz said.
The application will now move to a local finance board for review before the dissolution can take place. Township solicitor Peter Lange said that process would take a minimum of four weeks.
Barton assured the township’s firefighters they will remain heard if control of the fire company falls back under the committee’s control.
“I pledge to the firefighters and the EMS that you will have the equipment that you need and all the gear that you need. Your vehicles will be inspected, you will have everything required to run a first class operation,” Barton said.
