Jackson Township approves formation of oversight committee for Harmony EMS
JACKSON TWP — During a meeting Thursday, Feb. 19, supervisors approved the formation of an oversight committee for Harmony EMS through the Southwestern Butler Council of Governments, a move officials said is aimed at improving transparency between the agency and residents.
The committee will be made up of representatives from Jackson and Lancaster townships, Zelienople and Harmony, the same four municipalities that supervise Harmony Fire District.
“It will be the same exact oversight structure that currently exists with the Harmony Fire District,” Jackson Township manager Chris Rearick said. “Because the contributing municipalities are the same, the oversight board would also be the same.”
The other municipalities still need to ratify the move for the committee to become official, Rearick said.
While crafting budgets for 2026, officials from Jackson Township, Harmony and Zelienople implemented a half-mill tax that will bring in more than $100,000 in new revenue for Harmony EMS. Lancaster Township officials opted against raising taxes and instead voted to contribute the same allocation from their general fund.
Jay Grinnell, president and director of Harmony EMS who also serves as Jackson Township supervisors chairman, said he created a new Harmony EMS checking account that will strictly handle municipal funds.
“All expenditures out of that (account) will be easily visible,” he said. “There’s a lot of money that goes through Harmony EMS. This way, it’s all separated and you can see where the money is that was given by the municipalities.”
Grinnell also noted that all municipal funding would be devoted only toward capital improvement projects. He said Lynn Curl, director of operations for Harmony EMS, would also provide bimonthly updates to the council of governments that will center on how the funds are being appropriated.
Rearick said the push to form an oversight committee for the district began during the planning process for the new fire station along Route 19 and in the midst of increasing millage rates for the department. He said the move has been productive and expects similar results from the EMS committee.
“All parties work together quite well and thus far, the dialogue has worked very well,” Rearick said. “It’s actually, I think, helped to strengthen the member municipalities’ relationships with the fire district.”
