The residents of Grant Township may see a significant property tax increase in 2010, if they want to continue to receive fire protection from the city of Lawrence.

Lawrence City Hall leaders are seeking a 92 percent increase in the amount of money Grant Township, the rural area north of North Lawrence, pays the city to have the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department serve as the township’s fire-fighting force.

The increase, which would amount to about an additional $70,000 in 2010, would raise the township’s property tax rate by just more than 5 mills, or about $120 a year on a $200,000 home.

The proposed increase has spurred some talk of Grant Township — which has about 500 residents — starting its own volunteer fire department. But Township Trustee Rich Bireta said he’s not sure that is the direction the township wants to move.

“We’re exploring our options,” Bireta said. “If we were to do our own fire protection district, we would have challenges of investing in equipment and recruiting and training volunteers. I’m not sure we have a high enough density population to do it on our own.”

Instead, Bireta said he’s optimistic that Grant Township and the city will be able to work out a good deal for both sides. Hopefully, he said, that will mean something less than the $70,000 increase that is proposed.

“I’m not sure their formula is quite right,” Bireta said of how the city came up with the proposed increase.

But Lawrence City Manager David Corliss said he thinks the proposed increase is fair. He said city staff calculated that the city fire department’s $9.7 million budget is the equivalent of 11 mills worth of property tax. Corliss said he believes it is fair that Grant Township residents also pay 11 mills for the fire service they receive. Currently, Grant residents pay about 6 mills for fire service.

But Bireta said he believes Lawrence residents likely receive a higher level of service than Grant Township residents. The city does not operate a fire station north of the Kansas River — a fact that is not expected to change with the higher fee — and fire insurance ratings are generally lower for Lawrence than they are in Grant.

The two sides are expected to get together in the next two weeks to discuss details of a new agreement. The current agreement expires at the end of the year. The city has been providing fire protection service to Grant Township since at least 1979.