New Details Emerge In Fire Protection Talks Between Newtown Borough And Township

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA ? Negotiations are continuing behind the scenes between Newtown Borough and Newtown Township over a new fire protection agreement.

During an update on the talks at its September meeting, Newtown Borough Council President Emily Heinz said the borough?s latest proposal would boost its annual fire services contribution to Newtown Township by $84,000 over the next three years from $189,000 to $275,000.

According to Heinz, the borough?s latest numbers would increase borough taxes by two mills over the next three years to pay for full-time fire protection.

Earlier this year the council notified the township that it was terminating its fire agreement, which expires at the end of this year and would be seeking a ?restructured, much simpler agreement? for 2026 and moving forward.

?Our fire services committee has been hard at work along with manager Craig Totaro who has really helped us with crunching the numbers,? said Heinz. ?On August 15, we sent a proposal to Newtown Township that laid out amounts that we are proposing to pay for 2026, 2027 and 2028. These numbers are based off of the realities of our revenues as a small municipality as well as incremental and not overwhelming tax millage increases for fire services for our residents,? said Heinz.

According to Heinz, the borough latest proposal would establish a fee per service agreement that would consist of a yearly contribution to the township in exchange for the full provision of fire services.

The funds would be unrestricted and could be used by the township in a manner they see fit to fund fire services, said Heinz.

The borough is currently paying Newtown Township $189,712 annually for full-time fire protection. ?We have proposed what I think is a very reasonable increase of $227,164 for 2026, $250,419 for 2027 and $275,484 for 2028.

?We will still need to take some money from the general fund to fund the fire services,? said Heinz. Using those numbers, the tax millage increase for 2026 would be just under a mill, for 2027 about a half mill and for 2028 about a half mill, said Heinz.

Heinz said while the borough is willing to negotiate a number with the township, ?We?re not going to get to $275,000," which is the number the township is seeking.

?The fire services committee has been talking about a number to go back to them with but we haven?t quite gotten there yet,? said Heinz. ?Our next step is responding to their request.?

Heinz said the borough is looking for a multi-year agreement for budgeting purposes and to give residents an idea of what to expect in tax impacts ?It?s beneficial not just for us,? she said. ?It?s beneficial in their (the township?s) planning. And it?s beneficial for our residents to know what their tax increase is going to be over the next three years for fire services so they can plan accordingly.?

Representatives from the township and the borough have been meeting off and on over the summer, working on the new fire services deal.

Driving the increase in cost is a transition from a dwindling volunteer fire brigade to a paid, full-time staff. The township is asking the borough to pick up a part of the increased cost of manning a full-time crew of firefighters.