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Bethlehem Volunteer Fire Department Now Paying Crew

Department in Bethlehem will pay about $65K a year

Photo by Joselyn King Bethlehem Councilwoman Judy Kirker and Councilman Charles “Chuck” Griffin sit down for Tuesday night’s council meeting.

BETHLEHEM — The Bethlehem Volunteer Fire Department now has two paid emergency personnel on call 40 hours per week, and a representative told council members Tuesday the department needs village funding to continue at its current level if is to avoid a deficit in the coming years.

Tuesday was the first day paid staff members were on duty, and two firefighters/paramedics now will be at the station between from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. These are the department’s busiest hours, and the department will pay out about $65,000 annually for the service, according to George Saseen, president of the fire department’s board of directors.

The subject of the Bethlehem VFD’s finances has sparked heated debate in the village in recent weeks, as the department receives $50,000 a year from the city in utility tax revenue but has nearly twice the money on hand than does the village. Council members have discussed reducing the annual contribution, although they have made no decisions.

As of late July, the village had about $456,000 in its general fund account, while the Bethlehem VFD had $879,662 in its accounts.

Saseen said not only was Tuesday a “history-making day” for Bethlehem, but for Ohio County. He said it marked the first time that any volunteer fire department in the county had paid emergency personnel on call.

But Saseen also warned council members of the costs.

He asked council members to consider contributing additional funding to the department to expand paid coverage into weekends and later hours.

“We would be happy to accept any money toward the village residents to improve our response time,” he said.

Mayor Tim Bishop asked Saseen if anyone from the department had spoken to the Ohio County Commission about providing additional funding to the department, “since our guys would be servicing throughout the county.”

Saseen said the department has not spoken with commissioners, but thought it should first establish its payroll and operations for about a month to determine its finances.

“We will be approaching them, and hopefully they will help us,” he said.

Saseen provided further information about the fire department’s finances to council members Tuesday.

He said the department paid off its fire truck last month, and that this should give members a clearer picture of the department’s budget needs as it seeks to construct a larger firehouse. The current structure was built in 1950, and isn’t spacious enough to accommodate the larger size of today’s trucks, he said.

Saseen estimates the cost of the new building to be at least $1.3 million.

The breathing apparatus used by members must be replaced, as well as other pieces of equipment.

These expenses would come to about $10,000, he said.

He said overall, the fire department already is budgeting for the $50,000 it receives from the city, and would need to deplete its assets to avoid running a deficit if the funding is reduced.

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