Playing with fire

A budgeting oversight has left the Holley-Navarre Fire District short of money and scrounging for ways to stay in service.

“In creating the budget for the next year, I looked at the current year and as presented there are insufficient funds to see us through until the end of the year,”  said Acting Fire Chief Ron Norton.

Last Friday, Norton presented the board of commissioners with an outline of the current budget, the overage amount and a proposed budget for 2009.

Currently, the department has $273,661 in the bank but will need almost $150,000 more if the department is to continue operating through early December.

“I know it appears on paper that we should have the funds in the account, but according to the bank, we don’t have it,”  Norton said.

For more details on this story, see the Aug. 7 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe to our online edition.