Two Perry County fire departments are still fighting for funding, nearly a year after they were promised more money.
In January, the Penn Township Board of Supervisors agreed to negotiate "immediately and reasonably" with the Perdix and Duncannon Fire Companies.
The two volunteer fire companies rely on funding from the different municipalities they cover. They say other townships have chipped in more money, but Penn Township has not. Everyone agreed a fire tax for 2010 was a viable option to at least consider, but now the President of the Duncannon Fire Company, Kevin Bissonette, says he's doubtful there's enough time to make it happen. Bissonette says he understands the Penn Township Board is hesitant to raise taxes during this economy, but he says two of their fire trucks were out of service for months because they didn't have the money to get them fixed. He believes, it could happen again, which would increase response time in an emergency, "As a taxpayer, I'd rather pay a few extra dollars each year to ensure fire protection than wait for a firetruck to break down and have a 500 thousand or million dollar bill all at once to repair that apparatus."
The Penn Township board has a general budget meeting scheduled for Wednesday. There's also a specific meeting to address the fire department next week. Calls to the Penn Township Supervisor were not returned.
