Richmond Fire Department will receive nearly a million dollars to provide fire protection next year for Wayne Township and Spring Grove.
During its Aug. 27 meeting, the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety approved separate contracts with the township and town. Wayne Township will pay RFD $845,609 in four payments, and Spring Grove will pay $68,675 in two payments. That’s $914,284 total.
Controller Tracy McGinnis said the city has an agreement with Wayne Township and Spring Grove to only charge the fire protection money they receive in their tax levies.
The board also approved paramedic training contracts with probationary firefighters Peyton Meyer, Abraham Pierce and Joseph Bennett. They are required to receive paramedic training within five years at the department’s cost. If they voluntarily leave RFD before a certain number of years, they would repay the training costs on a specified reimbursement schedule.
Police vehicles
The board awarded a bid to Wetzel Ford to provide three Ford Explorer police vehicles at a cost of $49,309 each.
The city used the Indiana Local Preference Claim to award Wetzel the bid. Bob Maxey Ford of Detroit, Michigan, bid $48,795 per vehicle with the desired EcoBoost engine.
The three 2027 vehicles, which either dealer must order, complete the purchase of eight police vehicles this year from Wetzel. Richmond Police Department indicated in a letter to Wetzel last fall that it would purchase eight vehicles, but the 2026 budget did not include money for them.
Wetzel received the vehicles in January. The city purchased two with money from its share of the state’s settlement with opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers, then received bids for the other six vehicles. Wetzel previously received a contract for the three remaining vehicles it had immediately available.
This reporting is made possible in part by Whitewater Community Television.
A version of this article appeared in the September 2 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
