MADISON TOWNSHIP ─ Madison Township Trustees agreed Monday night to use the federal CARES Act fund to reimburse its first responders.
The funds will trim the extra cost the COVID-19 pandemic has caused for the fire department. The board agreed emergency medical responders and support personnel incurred by the Township since March can also receive the payment continuing through Dec. 30.
According to Trustees Chairman Dan Fletcher, the Township has about $411,000 unencumbered CARES Act fund. The money still needs to be appropriated. With approval from the trustees, Fletcher said the township would be able to reimburse those first responders’ salaries and health insurance.
“If they got a call, they could be going on the COVID run. They don’t know that. They have to take all kinds of precautions … on a scene, going to the scene and when they get back.” Fletcher said.
With all the extra sanitizing and cleaning, Trustee Catherine Swank said sometimes it would take those firefighters and EMT two or three times longer than normal to decontaminate the squad compared to a trauma run.
In Monday’s meeting, the trustees also revoked their decision to hire a new company to manage the Township’s electricity aggregation program, scheduled to start next spring.
The trustees agreed in the October board meeting to hire First Energy Advisors. After learning the news, Independent Energy Consultants (IEC), who is managing the Township’s program, sent the trustees an email notifying them that action would breach the contract and threatened to sue the Township.
Swank read the email to the public during the meeting on Monday. IEC stated that “despite the exclusivity provision of our consulting agreement, the Township worked with other consultants/brokers with respect to its electric aggregation program, and accepted an offer from one of the same.” IEC and First Energy Advisors both offered an agreement from Energy Harbor at a rate of $4.67 cents kilowatt hour.
IEC asked the Township to contact the office within 24 hours of receipt of the email, or it would engage the company’s attorneys to enforce its right under the consulting agreement.
“I made a motion (in October’s meeting) to go with another company without realizing that we were already locked in IEC and couldn’t back out of them,” said Trustee Jim Houser on Monday.
Swank explained they later realized the agreement requires the Township to notify IEC six months before deciding to work with another company. But the trustees were unhappy with the threat that came with the email.
“Really, that way doesn’t say much for them. They could have called us and just said, ‘You know what, you were really locked into this contract.’ instead of threatening,” Swank said.
In the same email, IEC stated the company reminded each of the trustees the Township’s “contractual obligations” on October 6.
The trustees said Monday the Township will keep working with IEC and renew a contract with Energy Harbor until March 2025.
In addition, the trustees approved the purchase of three Dell Latitude 3510 laptops for the Township with CARES Act funds.
The board voted for the purchase in the previous meeting to help the trustees work from home during COVID-19 pandemic. Leanna Rhodes, the Township’s fiscal officer said the price would be $716 for each laptop.
