Spring Grove will pay Richmond Fire Department less this year for fire coverage than anticipated.
A discussion among Mayor Ron Oler and Spring Grove’s town board at the board’s Feb. 11 meeting set the change in motion. The city believed that Spring Grove owed a past-due amount for fire coverage; however, Oler blamed the situation on an accounting discrepancy. In an email, he told WWN that the issue was resolved without Spring Grove paying additional funds.
The board questioned Oler about how Richmond calculated Spring Grove’s fire coverage payments. The contract for 2025 was $92,668, an increase of 15.1% over 2024. The town’s 2025 budget as filed with the Department of Local Government Finance included $80,501 for fire service, the amount paid in 2024.
The fire contract called for payments of $47,096 during 2022. That means the contract had increased 96.8% in three years. Oler investigated the matter and the city and town reached a compromise amount for 2025.
“Richmond’s partnership with Spring Grove is stronger than ever,” Oler wrote in the email. “We look forward to providing them fire protection for the foreseeable future.”
Richmond also contracts with Wayne Township to provide its fire coverage. That contract is for $800,746 for 2025, a decrease of 18.2% from 2024.
A version of this article appeared in the April 9 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.