Trustees considering options for rezoning

With more favorable weather outside compared to the previous gathering, dozens of LaGrange residents packed inside the confines of the township hall last week to weigh in on the options for the future of their fire coverage.

For the last several months, the township board of trustees has been mulling over possible changes to the fire coverage for residents living in the 280-parcels of township land that currently resides within the Dowagiac fire district. Though the township has been charging a flat 2 mill rate to all township residents for year, the increased cost of covering the difference for people being covered by the Dowagiac Fire Department has forced the board to consider one of two options, moving forward:

• 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 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.

“Me and my wife are against increasing the millage,” said Larry Holz, one of the residents in attendance. “We would rather join the Cassopolis and Wayne Township agreement. We checked our property insurance, and there would not be an increase [with this change].”

Holz was one of several attendees who expressed disagreement with the first option proposed. One of the things he objected to was the fact that Southwestern Michigan College doesn’t pay into the millage, despite the fact its campus is included in the current Dowagiac Fire District.

“I truly feel it’s wrong that the college shouldn’t be chipping in something,” Holz said. “When I went to school in Illinois, we actually had a small fee we paid for emergency services while living in the dorms.”

Other residents, though, favored extending their contract with the city, despite the increase in property tax.

“We’re taxed to death already, and we get sick and tired of it,” said resident Cecil Bolinger. “But while I can still get up and move and run a little bit, there are elderly people who live in this section that need this service. We need to think about them too.”

With the township’s current contract with the city set to expire on March 31, the board will be making a final decision on this subject in the coming weeks.

“We don’t want to leave anybody high and dry, which is why we’re asking what you think, to get more information,” said Township Supervisor Robert Wright. “We want everyone to be safe, and we want to be able to pay the bills.”