The 2018 fire protection agreements between the City of Knox and Center and Jackson Townships were up for approval at the Knox City Council meeting Tuesday evening.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston stated that the proposed agreements are essentially the same as past years except they did one year rather than two year agreements this year. He said that decision was made because an election will be coming up and incoming groups can not be legally bound to an agreement.
Prior to the meeting, Houston contacted the trustees from each township to discuss the particulars with each township representative. He spoke with Center Township Trustee Julie Manns and conferred with Fire Chief Kenny Pfost about keeping the annual payment the same. The Center Township will continue providing $30,000 to the City of Knox annually for fire protection from the volunteer fire department.
Jackson Township Trustee Robert Schmidt and Clerk-Treasurer Houston came to the decision to keep the Fire Protection agreement the same with $5,000 spent annually. Houston added that Jackson Township covers a much smaller area than Center Township, explaining the significant cost difference between the two.
The Knox City Council voted unanimously to approve both fire protection agreements for 2018.
