New
Liberty cannot assist other fire departments
By:
JESSICA SINGLETON
A funding
shortage has forced the New Liberty Volunteer Fire Department
to make some hard decisions in the past few weeks.
New Liberty Fire Chief Greg Davis said they will not be able to
assist other departments. In the past, they would respond to calls
and assist departments all over the county and even into nearby
counties. Now, they will only respond to emergencies within the
New Liberty Volunteer Fire Department territory.
“It is a big expense to go all over the county with high
gas prices,” he said.
Davis informed the Owen County Fiscal Court on Jan. 8 that the
end of automatic mutual aid will become effective Feb. 10.
“This is like a knife in my heart, but I have to take care
of the people who fund us first,” Davis said.
Owenton Fire Department Chief David Lilly supports Davis’
decision. He said departments have considered this option for
years.
“(Davis) is trying to find ways to make ends meet,”
Lilly said. “(Departments across the county) are doing what
we need to survive.”
The fiscal court is currently considering adding a membership
fee to next year’s tax bill to help fund the department.
Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion said the court will discuss
the fee during the March meeting.
Davis said the funding issue started when the demand for the department
increased dramatically. He reported that the number of runs jumped
from 130 to 219 in just one year. This jump made New Liberty the
busiest fire department in the county.
“The year-end numbers were the final straw,” he said.
“We must make changes to exist for another year.”
He said the problems became even worse when they were denied a
bank loan due to lack of a reliable source of income. The loan
is for contributing funds to a FEMA grant for a new fire truck.
They need $75,000 for their part of the grant.
“I can’t stress enough how under-funded we are,”
he said
“(The lack of funding) is a very big deal,” O’Banion
said. “I want to emphasize how big of a problem this is.”
Davis believes if they are able to get the membership fee, that
will be enough to secure the loan for the new truck. He also hopes
the membership fee will be enough to bring back the automatic
mutual aid.
“This is the most important thing we have entered into,”
he said.
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