By Collin Binkley, The Columbus Dispatch
Original publication date: April 27, 2011

Hamilton, Ohio — Hamilton Township will hand over fire dispatching to the Columbus Division of Fire in an effort to minimize the pinch of a proposed state budget.

Beginning in June, fire dispatchers in Columbus will field the township fire department’s emergency calls, charging $5 every time they send township fire units to an emergency that’s outside Columbus.

The city doesn’t charge communities when it sends units to emergencies within Columbus borders, which accounts for about 220 of Hamilton’s 3,000 annual calls to the fire department.

The township now pays the Franklin County sheriff’s office to handle the calls, but with increased costs this year and expected cuts in state aid, officials decided not to renew the contract.

The sheriff’s office began charging $7.44 for each emergency call this year and will increase that by a dollar per call in the following two years, said Shannon Bush, chairman of the township’s board of trustees.

He said the township expects a $52,000 reduction in state aid from the local-government fund next year based on Gov. John Kasich’s budget and could lose much more in reduced replacements of tangible personal-property taxes.

Township officials have met with their counterparts in nearby municipalities in recent weeks to discuss how they could save money by sharing services, Bush said. They brought up sharing costs of such things as legal fees and office supplies but are waiting to see the final state budget.

Norwich Township’s fire department also has asked for information from the Columbus Division of Fire but is looking into other regional dispatching groups, along with the possibility of forming a new one, said Fire Chief David Long.

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Contact Collin Binkley at cbinkley@dispatch.com.  

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