Local volunteers urge council to slow changes to fire-department ordinance tied to East Side merger

Unidentified Speaker 2, speaking on behalf of volunteer fire interests, urged the Lock Haven City Council to slow work on a proposed overhaul of the city's fire-department ordinance tied to the establishment of the East Side Fire and Rescue Company. The commenter said the draft goes beyond merger language and inserts changes that could alter chief selection, advisory-board composition and day-to-day authority.

"The proposed changes go beyond those necessary for establishment of the East Side Fire and Rescue Company," the speaker said, calling out language that would make the city chief an appointed position rather than one elected by department members and warning that the chief's company could gain majority influence on the advisory board.

The speaker highlighted specific sections (noted in the draft as Sections 59-1 through 59-14) that they said remove a foreman position, introduce an undefined "administrator," lengthen the district chief's term to six years and remove the advisory board from recommendation and suspension processes. The commenter also urged replacing multiple uses of the word "fire" with broader language such as "incident" to reflect medical calls, vehicle incidents and wildfires.

Council members thanked the speaker for the detailed review and said staff and the fire companies should meet to clarify concerns before final action. One council member suggested the ordinance might need to be split or re-titled so it is clear which entities the changes affect.

Council materials and a speaker at the meeting indicated a second reading of a related item was scheduled for Dec. 4 so stakeholders could continue to meet and resolve outstanding questions. Council did not adopt the ordinance during this public comment period; the speaker asked for additional review and stakeholder input before a final vote.

Next steps: Council members asked staff to bring the concerns to the city manager and encouraged the fire companies and advisory board to meet with administration to work through the issues before the next reading.