UPDATED: EW Supers Push Back Against County's $52K Bill

Update 6/18/2012 10pm: supervisors are also against the municipal funding of the county training campus. At its Monday night meeting, the board of supervisors approved a letter of opposition to be delivered to the Chester County Commissioners. 

According to the letter, whereas the county commissioners oversee the county's department of emergency services and the imposition of said fee is inappropriate and would have a deleterious impact on local budgets:

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Willistown Township Board of Supervisors opposes this method of dealing with the funding requirements of the county.

Be it further resolved that the Willistown Township Board of Supervisors is willing to work with the Chester County Commissioners to determine an appropriate way to address the County's funding challenges.

The Chester County Commissioners are set to discuss the matter on June 19 sunshine meeting and vote on it at their June 21 business meeting.

Original story continues below

Chester County is building a new for emergency responders and passing some of the costs to individual municipalities. That doesn't sit well with the board of supervisors, which discussed how to respond to the county at its June 13 meeting.

The supervisors voted to authorize the township manager to draft a letter of opposition to the county commissioners. Board chairperson Virginia McMichael said the county's own taxing authority would be a more appropriate means of funding the county project.

"Cost recovery funding at $2.6 million, population of approximately 500,000 people in Chester County," McMichael said, citing county figures. "The cost equates to roughly $5.20 [per person]."

For East Whiteland, with a population of 10,650, that means a bill for $55,380 will be arriving later this summer.

The funds will go toward a 130-acre public safety training campus for police and firefighters in South Coatesville, upgrades to the 911 system and other communications equipment, and ongoing administration and maintenance.