Newtown Township, Newtown Borough Reach Fire Services Agreement For 2026

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday directed its solicitor to draw up a fire services agreement with neighboring Newtown Borough ending, for now, a three-month stalemate over the borough's share of the cost of fire protection.

Under the agreement, the borough will pay the township $275,000 for full-time fire protection services for the balance of 2026. The township had asked for $350,000.

“For 2027 and beyond, we are entering negotiations to understand what a relationship is going forward,” announced board chairman Ed Merriman. “We are aware of the numbers and certainly we understand that the $275,000 is not the future number. We are working toward parity between Newtown Township and Newtown Borough.”

The borough and the township had been in negotiations for months over the borough’s share of the fire services bill, which has escalated over the last several years as the township has transitioned from a non-paid volunteer force to a full-time, paid department.

Talks, however, broke down three months ago over a $75,000 difference in cost.

Going forward, supervisor Melissa Merk said the township will be having ongoing discussions with the borough concerning 2027 and beyond to come up with a fair number.

Right now, the township is picking up the bulk of the fire protection bill as it replaces its dwindling volunteer crews with paid staff, a scenario that is being repeated across the nation.

“It’s easy to say it should be a fair number and I think we’re all in agreement between the township and the borough that there should be a number that requires everyone to pay their fair share,” said Merk. “Coming up with what that number is and what the formula is that gets us to a fair number is what we’re still trying to figure out.”

In the meantime, Merk said moving forward with an agreement will benefit both the township and the borough.

"They already approved the $275,000 last year ... And we already have a budgeted item for 2026 of $275,000, and right now we’re not receiving that,” she said. "An agreement that gives people services and gives the township that line item in our budget is beneficial to everyone."

Supervisor Elen Snyder, who brought the agreement back to the floor earlier this month, thanked the board “for finally getting back to the number (former supervisor) Dennis Fisher and I negotiated last year with the borough. We put our backs into it and worked very hard to get to this number.”

She continued, “It is agreed that we won’t be negotiating anymore. We will allow the fire services to put together a number using the calculation that all fire departments in Pennsylvania use. That is the fair way to go.”

The borough has been without an agreement since January, when its previous agreement with the township expired.

Talks have been virtually nonexistent since November, when three of the township supervisors said they wanted the borough to pay $350,000, which is $75,000 more than what the borough had agreed to during talks with the township.

The council responded to the township’s number last fall by resubmitting its offer of $275,000, which they said is what the negotiating teams had agreed to in good faith.

“We had good faith negotiations to arrive at this number, and this number is the threshold which was verbally agreed to by their negotiators,” said Councilor Josh Philips. “In good faith, we should stick to it.”

Added Councilor Kris Bauman, “We don’t think the $350,000 is an appropriate or a reasonable number. We do think the $275,000 is. And I believe we have some basis for that.”