LaGrange considers changes to fire coverage

Some major changes could be coming to the fire response for a portion of LaGrange Township residents.

The township board met with officials with the City of Dowagiac during a public hearing on Thursday to discuss potential changes to the township’s contract with the city for fire service. With the current agreement set to expire at the end of March, the board is considering several options with how to proceed with coverage for its 280-parcel property contained within the Dowagiac Fire Department’s response district.

Currently, all residents within LaGrange pay a two mill rate to help pay for fire response. However, the city charges the township a 4.2 mill rate for township coverage inside its fire district, which includes the campus of Southwestern Michigan College as well as properties on M-62, Dutch Settlement and Peavine streets and Twin Lakes Road.

This coverage costs the township an extra $25,000 every year, forcing the board to make up the deficit using the general fund, said Clerk Amy Juroff.

“We have been making up the difference for years, but it’s getting to the point where we can’t do that for much longer,” Juroff said.

Members of the township board have reached out to the city before to see if they can have those rates lowered, Juroff said. However, the city has denied those requests, citing that the extra cost is needed, due to the fact that the Dowagiac department always has at least one full-time staff member on-call, for immediate response to a fire emergency.

“It would be difficult to charge them a lesser rate while still providing them with the same level of service as that given to residents inside the city,” said Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson.

With the end of their current contract expiring soon, the township is considering two options on how to proceed:

• The establishment of a special assessment zone within the township residents living in the Dowagiac Fire Department district. The township will extend its contract with the city, though property owners will be required to pay the 4.2 mills for the coverage.

• The township chooses not to renew the deal with the city, and instead uses crews from Cassopolis and Wayne Township fire departments for emergency response within the area currently covered by Dowagiac.

The township has reached out the 230 residences inside the district, to gather input into what response they would like to see the township make.

“We don’t want to make that decision right away,” Juroff said. “We’re really taking into account what the residents in that area have to say.”

During the meeting last week, the public gathered in attendance seemed to lean toward the second option, with only one person stating that they would be willing to pay more to continue receiving coverage from the city fire department, Juroff said.

The township plans on holding another hearing about the issue during its meeting, at 6 p.m. on Jan. 22. Actual action on the matter isn’t expected to take place until February, the clerk added.