Village and township officials disagreed. Nothing was accomplished. Both sides left unhappy.
It was just your typical meeting of the Oxford Public Fire and EMS Commission Sept. 27.
This time OPFEC members failed to approve the 2006 operating budgets for the Oxford Fire Department and its Advanced Life Support (ALS) services.
‘Once again, fire and ALS becomes a political football at this arena,? said OPFEC member and township Trustee Pat Fitchena. ‘It makes me sick to my stomach.?
‘Those who characterize what’s going on here as a political football game need to remember that it takes two teams to toss the ball back and forth,? retorted Commissioner and village Councilman Steve Allen.
At issue were the proposed $1,160,614 fire operating budget and proposed $821,804 ALS budget for next year.
Rather than have the 12-member OPFEC board ? the separate authority which oversees the fire department ? approve those budgets, township officials made it clear their intention was to see them approved at the township board level, now that the township is levying and collecting all the fire taxes.
In May, voters in the township and village approved a 1.5-mill fire operating tax and 1-mill ALS tax to be levied equally across the entire township, including the village, beginning with the December 2005 tax bill.
‘I feel this millage is like any other township millage,? said Commissioner and township Treasurer Joe Ferrari, who compared them to the voter-approved millages for the public library and parks & recreation. ‘It’s a township tax.?
Prior to that vote, the fire department was funded through OPFEC by regular contributions from the township through its voter-approved millage and from the village via its council-approved millage.
Commissioner Allen was of the opinion that this arrangement was supposed to continue even though the township was levying and collecting all the fire taxes.
‘I have a distinct memory of when we talked about this millage,? he said. ‘The money would be collected by the township and then disbursed in its proper share to the village and township for paying the OPFEC bills.?
‘Sounds to me like that’s no longer part of the equation,? Allen said.
‘That wasn’t my understanding . . . Not myself as a taxpayer,? Ferrari replied.
‘Am I nuts here or was that discussed?? Allen retorted.
Officials agreed it was discussed, but no one determined whether it was decided that way by the board.
For commissioners and village council members George DelVigna and Renee Donovan the main issue was that OPFEC is still the only legal authority by which the fire department is governed and through which it can be funded.
‘It’s OPFEC’s budget. It’s not a township budget,? DelVigna said. ‘Everything has to be presented through OPFEC. It’s the OPFEC budget for EMS, ALS and the fire people.?
‘To me, the concern is we are still OPFEC,? Donovan said. ‘We have bylaws. We have an organization. And until the court tells us (differently), through the arbitrator, we have to operate legally.?
On Feb. 23, 2005, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Potts ordered OPFEC be dissolved and ‘any further disputes between the parties, including the distribution of assets, shall be determined by binding arbitration.? The matter is currently in arbitration.
Township officials made it clear that although they wished the budgets to be approved by their board, they still wanted input from village officials.
Ferrari’s motion calling for OPFEC to recommend the township board approve next year’s fire and ALS budgets included direction to ‘require? the township to keep the village ‘informed of all 2006 budget amendments? and ask village officials to give ‘written comments prior? to the amendments.
That motion failed as did two subsequent motions by village officials calling for both budgets to be approved as presented.
‘You voted against the budget, the village did not,? said DelVigna to township officials. ‘So, if it didn’t work, it’s at your end.?
DelVigna also voted ‘no? on both budgets because he believes the fire department’s ‘wish list? for new equipment is ‘exorbitant.?
The next night (Sept. 28) township officials approved both budgets at their meeting (see story on page 8).