New 10-year deal approved between Leet Township, Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department

Leet officials have approved a new 10-year deal for fire protection services with the Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department.

It was approved via 4-0 vote by the township commissioners Feb. 13. Vice President Carolyn Verszyla was absent.

Leet with pay Fair Oaks $56,000 in each of the first three years, including this one; $58,000 in each of the following four years; and $60,000 in the last three years. The payments are in addition to the township covering the department’s workers compensation insurance, which is part of state law.

“It’s reasonable,” said commission President Martin McDaniel. “We’re giving them tax money to run the place, and they have to raise money on their own, too. They have to have bingo, and this, that and the other thing. They’re a small fire department.

”In this whole valley, nobody has enough people (on their own).”

McDaniel said there is great support from mutual aid companies in Sewickley and surrounding neighborhoods.

Fair Oaks firefighters have served the township without a written agreement since the late 1980s, fire department President Mark Brooks said after the meeting.

“We’re very pleased,” Brooks said. “We just wanted to codify what we’re getting from the township. In the past, it had just been a year-to-year budgetary thing. Now we have it codified.

“The township doesn’t cover a lot of our expenses. We’re an independent, incorporated fire department, 100% volunteer (with) no compensation. We have an annual fund drive that we bring in about $10,000 to $12,000 a year. We receive state grants anywhere between $10,000 and $12,000.”

Brooks said the station, at 190 Ambridge Ave. in Leet, has 15 members with 10 active. They respond to between 90 and 100 calls annually.

The department celebrated its 100th anniversary in July 2021.

An auxiliary club organizes fundraisers and non-firefighter activities.

Township Manager Betsy Rengers confirmed the township has supported the fire department for decades without a formal agreement.

She said Leet has contributed about $14,000 quarterly to the department and a $15,000 annual fire truck fund contribution, which is used specifically for truck payments or capital projects.

“These things have been in place a really long time,” Rengers said.

Officials from both entities have been in cooperation for years largely based on trust.

“Leet has been a very stable community,” Rengers said.

The fire department is expected to approve and sign its part of the 10-year deal later this month.

In other news

Commissioners approved a pay increase for part-time police officers.

Police training pay will go up from $17 per hour to $20 per hour. Part-timers’ pay increases from $20 per hour to $25 per hour once training is completed.

McDaniel said the rate hike is designed to help the township remain competitive in seeking new recruits.

Rengers said some officers currently working for the township may see their pay go up even more with the change. It’s covered in the township budget, which was approved in December with no tax increase and a 5% bump in pay for all township employees.