Lansford Borough Council members discussed funding to the American Fire Co. No. 1 of Lansford during its recent meeting.

The fire company, which provides fire service in the borough, has not received any reimbursements for 2023, Councilwoman Jennifer Staines, who heads public safety, said.

Council members discussed how the process has changed in recent years, where the fire company now submits bills to the borough for payment or reimbursement from tax funds allocated for fire service.

The borough previously gave the funds directly to the fire company, Bartek said. Some council members wanted to revert to that method.

However, the borough’s auditor said the borough has to account for those funds, which is why it is asking the fire company to submit its bills for payment, Markovich said.

“We gave the fire company the choice of either forwarding bills to us for payment or paying the bills and we would reimburse them as they submitted paid bills,” Markovich said after the meeting.

The borough has not received any bills from the fire company for reimbursement since 2022, Markovich said.

Council members want to meet with fire company officials to resolve any issues, make sure the company receives reimbursement and end any bad blood between the borough and fire officials.