Newly sworn in Kidder Township supervisor Bruce Berger requested a special meeting of the board to discuss some concerns he has with the 2016 budget, which was adopted in December.

Berger was mainly concerned with road repairs and funding for the township's volunteer fire companies."I have taken the time to go over the budget line by line," Berger said. "And since I was recently appointed roadmaster I definitely have some questions about whether or not this budget has money in it for road repairs."Berger pointed out that he has been a resident of Old Stage Road for many years and does not recall there being any significant work done on the road.Township manager Lisa Klem said money for road repairs generally comes from the highways and roads budget and that paving comes from liquid fuels money, which is found in a different part of the budget."We only have 5.4 miles of township roads," said vice chairman Thomas LaFond. "So we do not receive a significant amount of liquid fuels money."Klem also explained that drainage problems on the roads are repaired out of stormwater management funds.Berger pointed out that tree trimming along the township roads needs to be a priority this year, especially along parts of lower Old Stage Road."You can't drive your car down the right side of the road without running into branches," he said.The second area of concern for Berger was the amount of money set aside in the budget for the volunteer fire companies."It has been four years since the fire companies have received an increase," said Berger. "I know with the millage increase the ambulance service is going to be able to get by, but I think in this day and age when less and less people are volunteering we need to be looking at some way to make sure that we are ready."Berger made a motion to open the budget and increase the Fire Tax Fund to 1 mill. The increase would be 0.05 mills. But Berger considered it a step in the right direction. The motion failed to receive a second.Berger provided statistics he received from Carbon County 911 Director, Gary Williams, which showed that from 2010 through 2015 Kidder Township has had the busiest volunteer fire force in Carbon County. The township fire companies average about 800 calls per year, racking up over 1,000 calls in 2015.Lake Harmony Fire Chief Ralph Lennon reminded the board that in previous years the township used to pay for a fire company's fuel. A few years back the township increased the money received by the company.Lennon said that if the township would go back to paying for the fuel, that it would alleviate some of the burden.Berger made a second motion that the budget be opened and the fuel allowance by added for the fire companies. The motion failed for lack of a second.Chairman Thomas Bradley said that he agreed that it might be something that the township could consider but that he felt that the upcoming Fire Commission meeting scheduled for Jan. 20 might be a better place to start the discussion.