Pennsylvania Department Considers Fee for Fire Services

Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department is seeking funding to stay afloat.

The fire department is searching for a new way to support its services because fundraisers no longer can cover the department’s operational costs.

Members of the 116-year-old department met with council and residents Sept. 22 to discuss imposing an annual fee on property owners to ensure the department’s long-term stability.

“The objective is to find a way to come up with additional funding for the fire station,” fire Chief Joe Wissel Jr. said.

The department’s annual expenses total about $68,000. In 2014, it lost $6,000, which was covered by a reserve fund that has only $7,000.

The borough allocates $11,000 a year to the department, though $5,000 goes to an escrow account for emergency use. Fundraising covers the rest of the department’s budget.

“We are putting a plan on the table to make sure the fire department not only can survive but succeed long-term,” Wissel said. “It’s unrealistic for us to make it on $6,000 a year.”

The fee “” which has yet to be formally proposed “” would total $78 for a residence or non-occupied building, $78 for each apartment structure plus $20 per unit and $140 for each business.

Wissel estimates the fee would generate $58,869.18, assuming an 11 percent non-collection rate.

About 15 residents attended the meeting including Albert Kosol, who questioned how the borough intends to enforce the fee.

“You are going to have to go through an agency to collect this money,” he said. “We have trouble collecting sewage bills. People just don’t like to pay.”

There are 551 residential structures, 90 non-owner occupied structures, 42 apartments and 78 businesses in the borough, according to a study completed by Municipal Marketing Services using census and postal service information.

Businesses that operate inside a person’s home would only incur the residential rate.

“It is not fair to penalize a resident if they are operating (their business) out of their home,” Wissel said.

The money would only go toward operational costs. It would replace the $11,000 from the borough and an annual fund drive, Wissel said.

Alex Felser is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-388-5810 or afelser@tribweb.com