Brookfield trustees have approved a three-year contract to continue to provide fire and emergency medical service to Hartford.
The trustees, acting Dec. 10, followed Hartford trustees’ approval of the pact on Dec. 2.
Hartford agreed to increase the base fee and an administrative and maintenance fee by 10 percent each year. Hartford will pay $95,076 in 2026, $104,585 in 2027 and $115,042 in 2028.
Hartford also agreed to increase the number of sets of turnout gear it buys each year from two to four. One set, which includes pants with suspenders, coats, helmets, boots, gloves and protective hoods, costs about $5,000.
Brookfield Trustee Dan Suttles said the pact is a “good contract.”
“I think they’re getting a good bang for their buck,” he said. “It’s good for our budget.”
Brookfield Trustee Mark Ferrara called the deal “reasonable.”
“It’s a win-win,” he said.
Ferrara noted that Hartford has ordered a new pumper-tanker truck that Brookfield will be able to use. The truck costs about $600,000.
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Hartford Township trustees on Dec. 2 approved a new three-year contract for Brookfield Fire Department to provide fire and emergency medical service to Hartford.
Hartford trustees Rebecca Whitman and Phil Wilhelm each said they have a “good contract” with Brookfield, and Whitman added that the pact is good financially for Hartford as other townships are charging about the same amount for emergency medical service.
Hartford agreed to increase the base rate – which was $66,433 in 2025 – by 10 percent each year of the contract, and the $20,000 maintenance and administration fee by 10 percent each year. According to Whitman’s calculations, Hartford will pay $95,076 in 2026, $104,584 in 2027 and $115,042 in 2028. They also agreed to buy four sets of turnout gear a year, up from two in the previous pact. Turnout gear includes pants with suspenders, coats, helmets, boots, gloves and protective hoods.
At a Nov. 26 joint meeting between the boards of trustees, Brookfield also asked to raise a training allowance from $2,000 to $3,000 a year. Since the fire department has not drawn on the training fund for several years, it will remain the same, Whitman said.
Hartford trustees expressed satisfaction with the service Brookfield Fire provides and the willingness of the department to participate in Hartford community events, from Chief David Masirovits giving a report at trustee meetings to sending a crew to events such as the Hartford Apple Festival and its Halloween Trunk or Treat. Hartford Trustee William Burns said the success of Hartford’s Nov. 5 ballot question seeking the renewal of a 2-mill, 5-year levy for fire protection speaks well of Brookfield’s service. That levy brings in about $100,000 a year, substantially funding the contract, Whitman said. The township also has another $100,000 from inside millage for fire protection, she said.
Brookfield answered 272 calls for service in Hartford last year and 337 in 2023. Brookfield can use the Hartford fire station and the township’s 1991 pumper truck. A new pumper is on order.
Hartford trustees approved hiring A to Z Dependable Services to supply and install a tankless water heater at the fire station for $5,884, and to pay up to $5,000 to renovate the station’s kitchen. Township General Maintenance Supervisor Chris Lavezzare will renovate the kitchen.
