After a two-year split, Kennett Square borough is coming back to the table.
Last week, the borough council voted unanimously to rejoin the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission, the southern Chester County partnership it walked away from in 2023 when emergency services costs began spiraling out of control, reports Brooke Schultz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The commission approved the return this week. The additional five municipalities will now vote to approve the same measure.
The commission, founded in 2017, pools funding and resources among three fire companies (Kennett Fire Company No. 1, Longwood Fire Company No. 25, and Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company No. 36), serving a cluster of municipalities across the region.
The sticker shock that prompted the original departure was steep. What cost the borough roughly $296,000 in 2020 was on track to hit nearly $1 million in projected 2026 expenses.
The new three-year agreement addresses that pain point directly. Annual increases to municipal contributions will now be capped at 20 percent, giving the borough stronger budget predictability.
Mayor Matt Fetick struck an optimistic note on what the partnership return could mean beyond the budget. “I do think the fire departments have worked really hard, and to see the municipalities working together on it, I think, will instill more confidence in the fire and EMS providers,” he said.
The vote to rejoin is less a reversal than a recalibration. It restores Kennett Square’s voting power and puts it back in the room where regional emergency response decisions get made.
Read more about Kennett Square’s return to the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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