The fire subcommittee of the Shenango Valley Intergovernmental Study Committee got some good news in a legal opinion on money that towns receive from the state for equipment and pensions.

The state taxes premiums for casualty and fire insurance sold in Pennsylvania by companies that are not based here, and passes the proceeds to municipalities.

The money has two purposes: to help volunteer fire department relief associations buy equipment for the departments, and to defray the cost of municipal, police and fire pension plans.

The money can be a substantial revenue source for municipalities and fire departments.

The five municipalities in the study received this money in 2001:

• Hermitage, $325,552 for pensions and $75,998 for the relief association.

• Sharon, $151,223 for pensions. Sharon has an all-paid fire department, making it ineligible for equipment funds.

• Sharpsville, $52,810 for pensions and $16,382 for the relief association.

• Farrell, $15,616 for pensions and $7,698 for the relief association.

• Wheatland, $8,095 for pensions and $3,188 for the relief association.

The question was posed to Thomas G. Wagner, a lawyer who was involved in the St. Marys, Pa., consolidation.

The simple answer, Lally said Tuesday, is that a new city of merged Shenango Valley communities would receive the same funding as the total the five municipalities are entitled to receive now -- $656,563 in 2001.

The formula for distributing the money is based on population and market value, Wagner said.

Although the fire subcommittee has not settled on how it will propose fire protection be organized, one of the options is to use a mix of paid and volunteer departments.

In the case of communities served by both paid and volunteer firefighters, the state wants to know what portion of fire protection is provided by the volunteers and by the paid firefighters. State money will be split, based on the percentage.

"Fortunately, the state leaves it up to the municipality to tell them how much protection is by paid firefighters and how much by volunteers," Lally said.

The municipality would need to have some flexibility to adjust the percentage as the fortunes of the volunteer fire departments change, he said. The municipality would have to build flexibility into agreements with the departments to allow that adjustment, he said.

jpinchot@sharon-herald.com

Sewer and water

Hermitage Commissioner Joseph Augustine said sewer consultant L. Robert Kimball and Associates, Ebensburg, Pa., has filed five applications with state agencies to try to secure a $100,000 grant for a sewer study. When Kimball was hired in May, the firm was told it would be responsible for funding the study. Although Kimball has been billing the city of Farrell, the committee's lead community, the bills are not to be paid, Augustine said. The committee is "at a standstill until we find out how much money we're getting and where we're getting it from," he said.

Fire

Sharpsville Councilman Thomas Lally said he has been meeting with the fire chiefs of the communities in preparation for having them complete a questionnaire. Lally said he's keeping the questions from the public until the responses are in.

Streets and traffic signals

Sharon citizen representative George Gerhart said the committee is putting together a wish list of equipment and facilities and is looking at the organizational structures of other cities to help formulate a proposal for structure and staffing.

Recreation

Hermitage Commissioner James "Pat" White said the committee is using York, Pa., as a model, and the committee's work is nearly complete.

Police

Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson said the committee has not met for several months while it waits for information to come in from the police departments. "I think, once we get the missing information, we'll be able to move to work very quickly," he said. The committee is working with a consultant, Police Chief Harry Fruecht of Peters Township, Allegheny County, who is planing to visit the area.

Government structure

James DeCapua, executive director of Mercer County Regional Council of Governments, said the committee is writing a report, but needs the other committees to complete their work before it can finish it. The committee also has submitted some questions to lawyer Thomas G. Wagner of St. Marys, Pa., for legal opinions. Questions include how a consolidation would affect school districts and post offices, if a municipality can provide differing levels of taxes and services to residents and several queries on home rule charters.