OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Mark Woolley requested an increase to fire protection contracts on behalf of the Forestville Fire Department at a recent public hearing in Hanover. His request was denied.

HANOVER — Only one resident spoke at a recent public hearing in the town of Hanover regarding fire protection contracts in the town. The lone speaker was Mark Woolley, who spoke on behalf of the Forestville Fire Department.

Woolley requested an increase to the contracted amounts for Forestville in District 1 and District 2, as the contracts proposed by the Town did not show an increase from last year’s amounts. The Town Board budgeted $35,908 with the Forestville Fire Department for Fire District 1 and $31,111 for Fire District 2. Additionally, Hanover Hose will receive $30,400 for Fire District 2, while Perrysburg receives $2,500 for its portion of Fire District 2.

Woolley highlighted rising costs to firefighting equipment and turnout gear, as well as insurance costs as reasoning for requesting an increase to the department’s budget.

When factoring in no increase for 2026, the Town has increased its contracted amounts with Forestville by an average of less than 1% per year since 2017. Dating back to the leadership of previous Town Supervisor Todd Johnson, the department has requested an increase in line with the tax cap increase each year, but the department was often denied.

In 2025, the town of Hanover budgeted a total amount of $35,908 for Fire District 1, which remains the same in 2026. Fire District 2 was budgeted $243,829, but now that the new Bay-Creek Fire District has been established, a sizable portion of Fire District 2 is no longer contracted. Instead, the Bay-Creek Fire District will set its own rate for the residents of its territory.

In 2025, the Town paid roughly $139,000 in contracts to cover the territory now under the new Bay-Creek Fire District, which was located in Fire District 2. That amount was decreased from the budgeted amount of $243,829, leaving roughly $104,000 left to cover the cost of Forestville, Hanover Hose, and Perrysburg.

Town Accountant Elmar Kiefer determined that the evaluation for Forestville, Hanover Hose, and Perrysburg was higher than anticipated, so to raise the amount required to contract with the three companies, the Town was able to propose a rate of $1.07 per thousand, rather than $1.37 per thousand – roughly 22% lower than last year.

Woolley proposed a rate of $1.50 per thousand for the remaining districts, which would increase the Forestville budget in Fire District 1 to $50,120 and in Fire District 2, the budget would be $33,693. The Bay-Creek Fire District rates have not yet been determined.

The increases Woolley requested total more than $15,000 from what the town budgeted. Still, the figures Woolley suggested would still be below the budgeted amount if the town increased the fire budgets in line with tax cap increases since 2017. The proposed rate that Woolley presented is below the rate of the town of Arkwright, which the Forestville Fire Department serves through a contract of its own.

Town Supervisor Lou Pelletter responded to Woolley’s request by highlighting his intention to have Forestville join in a fire district covering the entire town of Hanover. Woolley stated the Forestville Fire Department is still not interested in joining the Bay-Creek Fire District because of its desire to serve its district and the contracted areas with the town of Arkwright.

“It would make more sense to still protect the district we currently have, and still be able to lower our rates down,” Woolley said. “… We want to make sure we still serve the same area we serve, and serve it correctly.”

Woolley said the department was more concerned with its ability to serve its area, and that the finances were not the main concern. Pelletter responded, “They are now.”

Woolley responded, “Being compensated equally for what we could do has always been a concern, and it hasn’t worked out that way.”

The Town Board approved the 2026 preliminary budget and fire contracts as presented following a public hearing on the budget, shortly after the fire contract hearing concluded.

Also of note, the Town Justice Court disposed of 228 traffic law cases, 16 penal law cases, and three civil cases in the month of September for a total of $15,692 collected and turned over for distribution. The Hanover Town Clerk’s Office collected $8,494 in revenue for the month of September, in part due to issuing 1,131 State Department of Environmental Conservation licenses and 42 dog licenses. The Code Enforcement Office issued 26 permits in September – 18 in Hanover and eight in Silver Creek.

The Town agreed to cancel outstanding debt in Water District 1, pertaining to the Seneca Nation, for a total of $7,288.04 after more than 30 years of attempts to collect the debt. The Town also modified the Water District 1 project budget for a decrease of $19,990 as a result of a single audit, and an additional $533.81 in miscellaneous costs.

The Town Board also approved healthcare plans for its employees through Independent Health. A professional procurement policy was also adopted.

Hunter Borzerlerri was hired as a full-time groundskeeper, effective Oct. 20, at a rate of $19 per hour. Thomas Rocque and Dale Nichols were hired as part-time watchkeepers for the Town Justice Court, at a rate of $17.58 per hour, for 5-10 hours per month for each employee.

A meeting regarding the proposed Historic District in Forestville will be held at 21 Pearl Street on Dec. 3. The meeting will discuss what a historic district is and the benefits of establishing one. The proposed Historic District on Pearl Street in Forestville is currently being evaluated by the State Historic Preservation Office.

The Board also passed a resolution at its latest meeting in support of County Executive P.J. Wendel’s proposal to establish a government efficiency fund designed to encourage shared services, mergers, consolidations and dissolutions. Similar resolutions have been passed in Silver Creek, Portland, and Arkwright in recent weeks.

The next Hanover Town Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.