Would be an additional $2.15 a month

The Ironton City Council will have a special meeting tonight to discuss raising the city’s fire fee rate up $2.15 a month so that three of the city’s firefighters aren’t laid off.

The council’s finance committee will meet first at 6 p.m. to amend the fire fee ordinance and to give recommendations on amending the city budget for 2017. There will be a council meeting immediately afterwards to give first reading on the fire fee amendment and to give the 2017 budget ordinance a second reading.

At last Thursday’s council meeting, the room was packed with some 50 people coming out in a show of support for the Ironton Fire Department and to take a stand against three firefighters being laid off. Councilman Bob Cleary floated the idea of raising the city’s fire fee from the current rates of $4.75 for household and $12 for businesses, which generates around $305,000 every year. The fire fee is on the city water bills.

This week, the council will consider raising it $2.15 a month for both households and businesses. That would be an additional $25.80 a year.

According to Ironton Finance Department estimates, the increase would generate approximately $116,500 annually.

Vice Mayor Craig Harvey said they decided to make an amendment that would raise the fire fee at Monday’s finance committee meeting on Monday.

The reason for additional meetings is that the budget is due on March 31.

“March always becomes really hectic, trying to squeeze in enough meetings,” he said.

Harvey said he has been approached by a number of people and he is routinely told that they do not want to see increased fees of any type.

“But I have also been stopped by people who say they don’t want to see firefighters go,” he said. “The question has always been how do you justify that balance of not increasing fees and not letting firefighters go. There have been some extreme views on that.”

Harvey said he does not feel comfortable with a fee increase because of the reaction he gets from the public.

“And I stand by that,” he said. “When I ran, I said I ran to represent people like myself, that are just working people in Ironton. When they tell me that they don’t want fees, I have to respect that.”

He doesn’t think that a “modest” increase in the fire fee is that big of a deal, but is still going to vote “no” on an increase.

He said that every member of the council has an open ear and is willing to listen to people.

“I think that is healthy for people to stop us and tell us how they really feel about it,” Harvey said. “We are representing the people of Ironton and not our own personal interests.”