Goshen Township will pay New Philadelphia between 50 and 80 percent more for fire protection services over the next three years after tentatively reaching a new agreement.
New Philadelphia City Council unanimously approved it Monday, and Safety Director Kevin Milligan says Goshen Township trustees have verbally agreed.
“For ten years this is something that’s been looked at and addressed. I think this is the right step forward. I think given where we are from a city’s position and given where Goshen Township is this is the appropriate right step.”
Milligan has said New Philadelphia residents have been paying more than twice as much for the same level of emergency protection as Goshen residents, and city officials were looking for a deal that would close that gap.
“Financially I think we did move to close the gap. We made a commitment as a group how we were strategically going to move forward for a long-term partnership. I felt comfortable with their commitments they made to me and I made to them, and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
He says the new agreement also takes into consideration what the Township can afford.
“I think we put a strategic plan in place about when we’re going to meet, where we’re going to meet, and what we’re going to discuss and what a potential plan looks like at the end of 2029.”
Under the agreement, Goshen would pay $275,000 in 2027, $300,000 in 2028 and $325,000 in 2029. The current annual cost is $180,000.
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