Dexter Township Approves Fire Contract With Chelsea

The Dexter Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved its contract for fire service with the Chelsea Area Fire Authority on Tuesday.

Under the contract, which Chelsea's fire authority approved at its meeting on Jan. 11, the township agrees to pay "the equivalent of 1.8 mills" or $15,536.37 yearly for fire protection in the western portion of the township. In addition, the township will be charged $2.16 per hour for each Chelsea fire engine dispatched, $4.34 per hour for each aerial tower truck dispatched, and $2 per hour for each brush truck dispatched.

The township also contracts with the Putnam Township Fire Department to cover the Portage Lake area in the northeast section of the township and the Dexter Area Fire Department to cover the center and southeast portions of the township.

Township Supervisor Pat Kelly said the bulk of the township will be covered by the DAFD's main station in Dexter Village and the township's  at the Multi Lakes Sewer Authority on North Territorial Road. Kelly said the new contract is expected to save taxpayers several thousand dollars.

Kelly said the township paid Chelsea $64,535 in 2010 for approximately 60 service runs ($1,076 per run).  Under the new contract, the township will pay $15,566.37 plus per-run charges in 2011 for four projected service runs in Chelsea's coverage area based on five years of historical data ($3,892 per run). The majority of the coverage area is open land, with few homes, she said.

"The DAFD went out in their trucks and determined that they could get to residents just as fast as Chelsea could, so with no effect to public safety, it made fiscal sense to give more coverage to the DAFD," Kelly said.

In other action:

• The township board renewed its adendum to the General Property Tax Act that allows residents to continue protesting any property tax claims to the Board of Review by mail for 2011.
• The board set Feb. 5 at 8:30 a.m. for its 2011-2012 fiscal year budget workshop at the township hall.

• The board passed a resolution for its 2011 Property Assessment Poverty Guidelines.

Upcoming meetings:

• The Public Safety Advisory Committee meets at 7 p.m. at the township hall on Jan. 24 to discuss police services.
• The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the township hall to discuss proposed amendments to the township zoning ordinance.
• The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Dexter Township Board is 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the township hall.