Howell Fire District Elections On Feb. 16

Southard Fire Dept. No. 1. (Photo courtesy Southard Fire Dept. No. 1)
Southard Fire Dept. No. 1. (Photo courtesy Southard Fire Dept. No. 1)

HOWELL – The annual Fire District election will be held on Feb. 16, 2019. Howell Township is home to five fire districts including: Fire District No. 1 Squankum, Fire District No. 2 Adelphia, Fire District No. 3 Southard, Fire District No. 4 Ramtown, and Fire District No. 5 Freewood Acres.

Residents will be voting on their district’s budget and for any individuals running for a three-year term on the Board of Fire Commissioners.

Fire District No. 1

The proposed 2019 budget for Fire District No. 1 Squankum would be $1,085,211, with $1,054,711 to be raised by taxation.

The 2019 budget would decrease by $112,043, or 9.4 percent from 2018. The 2018 adopted budget was $1,197,254, with $1,046,754 raised by taxation.

The decrease is due primarily to less capital appropriations because there is less need for equipment, according to the district. The 2019 budget would allocate $40,000 for capital appropriations, which would be used as funding for a generator. This is a 73.3 percent decrease from 2018’s $150,000 for capital appropriations.

There is no debt service for 2019.

The amount raised by taxation for 2019 would increase by $7,957, or 8 percent, from 2018. The tax rate would remain the same at 28 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from 2018 to 2019.

Fire District No. 2

The 2019 budget for Fire District No. 2 Adelphia would be $1,787,200, with $1,100,000 to be raised by taxation.

  The 2019 budget would increase by $397,500 from 2018. The 2018 budget was $1,389,700, with $110,000 allocated for capitol appropriations and $1,100,000 raised by taxation.

This proposed budget would be offset by $330,000 from capital reserve for new radios, and $357,200 from surplus, according to Treasurer George Patten.  

Patten confirmed that on the ballot for Fire District No. 2 Board of Fire Commissioners are incumbents Dr. Harry Carter, chairman, Thomas Ward, vice chairman, and newcomer Robert Tice.

Fire District No. 3

Attempts to obtain budget figures for Fire District No. 3 Southard were unsuccessful as of print time.

Fire District No. 4

The 2019 budget for Fire District No. 4 Ramtown would be $973,500, with $200,000 allocated for capital appropriations and $865,829 to be raised by taxation.

The 2019 budget would decrease $47,500 from 2018. The 2018 budget was $1,021,000, with $843,651 raised by taxation.

The 2019 tax rate would decrease from 8.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2018 to 7.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

District No. 4 has no outstanding debt for 2019.

Fire District No. 5

Attempts to obtain budget figures for Fire District No. 5 Freewood Acres were unsuccessful as of print time.