Future of Lick Hill VFD uncertain
Although it can no longer be dispatched to emergencies, the Lick Hill Volunteer Fire Department still has its assets, and its members are looking for new opportunities as a nonprofit.
Bryan Powell, chief of the department, said Lick Hill did not dissolve its charter after Summit Township supervisors voted to no longer recognize the department in December, and its members are consulting with an attorney about the future of Lick Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
“In the eyes of the state we're still a fire department, still a nonprofit; we just can’t respond to emergencies,” Powell said.
Kim Houser, an attorney with Mears, Smith, Houser & Boyle, said volunteer fire departments are able to maintain their assets after being derecognized by their supporting municipality, even if the municipality allocated them state money.
Summit Township used to split its state Fire Relief Aid money between Lick Hill VFD and Herman Volunteer Fire Company, but in late 2023 supervisors allocated $26,900 to Herman and $100 to Lick Hill Firemen’s Relief Association. At a Jan. 17 meeting, the supervisors voted to give the earned income tax revenue from the fourth quarter of 2023 that would usually be split between Herman and Lick Hill to Herman. Lick Hill VFD also provided backup for Oakland Township, whose supervisors withheld state aid money when Summit Township did.
The Summit Township supervisors said they were not satisfied with financial documents Lick Hill provided to the township, which led to the withholding of money, and later the derecognition of the department. The supervisors also said they didn’t receive equipment test results from Lick Hill, though Powell said he gave them the test certifications.
The financial documents included a state audit of the Lick Hill Community Fire and Relief Association, which found undocumented and unauthorized expenditures, as well as a list of bank transactions from 2021 and 2022.
Powell said the fire department paid the relief association back for the unauthorized and undocumented expenditures after seeing the findings in the state audit, and Houser said the relief association still has a right to the money in its account.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, the findings in an audit can be fixed by the department,” Houser said. “It's (the township’s) choice to allocate money, but they don't own the assets.”
Houser also said Summit Township had not financially supported Lick Hill over the years to a sufficient level, and the department has raised funds to cover expenses like equipment and training.
“Most municipalities should be paying for all the equipment, physicals, training — which are all really Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) expenses,” Powell said.
Summit Township supervisors said there are no current plans to negotiate with administrators of Lick Hill.
Herman Volunteer Fire Company is now providing fire coverage for all of Summit Township, because providing fire protection is required of all Pennsylvania municipalities.
“You only acted under your duties as a second-class township to provide fire protection,” Summit Township solicitor Michael Gallagher said to the supervisors Jan. 17. “You have been put in a very tough situation, and your responsibility is to the people in Summit — everybody in Summit.”
Powell said the fire department still has money in its bank account, and it owns its equipment, even though some was purchased at least partially with state and federal money.
Houser said Lick Hill is looking at its options regarding use of its money and assets in the area. Powell said he and other members of the department are thankful for the support the department received since its founding in 1969.
“We're not threatening to sue anybody. We need to find a new charitable area,” he said. “They have options; they have to work through them now that the primary (coverage) area has been removed.”
