If a study is going to be done about the possible merger or combining of services and equipment by Salisbury Township fire departments, the volunteer firefighters want to be part of it.

That’s the take-away after a contingent of about one dozen firefighters showed up at the Nov. 22 township meeting.

“If there’s going to be a study, we’d like to be part of that,” Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Joshua G. Wells told commissioners.

“You would like a meeting to discuss why there’s a need for a study?” township Commissioner Debra Brinton asked.

“We’re going through the process of finding some consensus in terms of operations and equipment,” Salisbury Township Manager Randy Soriano said.

“We’ll look into that [a possible study] in January,” township board of commissioners President James A. Brown said.

Discussion of a study of township fire departments came up during a review of the 2017 Salisbury Township general fund budget.

“We need to take a look at our fire companies,” township board of commissioners Vice President Robert Martucci Jr. said at the Nov. 10 workshop. Commissioners were discussing ways to reduce a projected township deficit for the 2017 budget.

“We put a lot of money in it [fire-fighting]. Can we combine the two [Eastern and Western fire companies]? We need to do a study. I think we need to bring in an outside consultant. It seems to me we’re duplicating on some equipment,” Martucci said of the fire companies.

During the workshop, Salisbury Township Assistant Manager-Director of Finance Cathy Bonaskiewich explained, “The fire fund doesn’t have enough funds, so we fill in.”

Under the fire fund in the 2017 general fund budget, $664,320 is listed for a new pumper truck, which is being built with a summer-fall delivery expected for Western Salisbury Fire Company. An estimated $200,000 toward the new fire truck is expected to be provided in state funding.

At the Nov. 10 workshop, Salisbury Township Chief of Police Allen W. Stiles supported the study. ”We should hire somebody from the outside and have them look at the fire companies and tell us what needs to be done. And I also would ask them to study the police department and see what we can do,” Stiles said.