The City of Butler and Butler Township will be voting on an ordinance allowing us to enter into an intergovernmental agreement. This agreement is being made in order to hire a joint fire chief who will serve both municipalities.The intention is for each municipality to introduce the ordinance at our respective meetings this month and to finalize the ordinance and agreement in July.

The fire chief will be a full time employee who oversees the Butler Bureau of Fire as well as the three fire stations in Butler Township.

We intend to enter into this agreement because we believe both municipalities will better be able to serve their communities and taxpayers by doing so.

The City of Butler has been without a fire chief for over two years. While the Captains on the team have done a good job of picking up the responsibilities alongside the Public Safety Directors, it is evident a chief is needed.

The Butler Township fire departments all have their own chiefs who, like the rest of the members of the department, are volunteers. It is their desire to have one specific individual who oversees all of the departments and manages them accordingly.

One of the biggest concerns we elected officials kept in mind during the discussions we’ve been having since late February is to ensure tax payers from both municipalities are only paying their fair share for the services rendered. We have plans to implement procedures as well as checks and balances to ensure exactly that. Each party’s portion will be a pro-rated amount based on the work performed. Costs for benefits, salary, and other incidentals are included in these considerations.

We believe this step forward will allow both departments to work together more fluidly. Additionally, the City and the Township hope to be able to work together in other joint ventures in the future.