The Canfield Professional Firefighters Local 4507 union issued a statement on Friday expressing opposition to a proposed merger with the Boardman Township Fire Department.

In the union's statement, members accuse Cardinal Joint Fire District Board Chairman Rich Russo of falsely stating that the union is in favor of the merger, when in reality they are not.

Instead, the union alleges that they've expressed concerns with the merger, but whenever those concerns are brought up, they're met with disdain or hostility.

"Our local members have submitted concerns and questions to the merger committee, and instead of answering our questions or addressing our concerns, we were belittled for our assumptions, and the committee refused to answer questions that weren't specifically direct, and every opportunity was made to avoid answering when possible," the statement reads.

However, the union quotes Russo multiple times, saying that the union is in favor of the merger with quotes like "We brought the union reps in from day one. They're onboard with us."

The union goes on to claim that statements were made at a board meeting that members were 75% for the merger and 25% against it. However, the union says its members unanimously voted against the merger.

"This statement was not approved or discussed with Local 4507 Executive Board Members and presents serious concerns over how we are being misrepresented," the statement reads.

Union president Joshua Grossman tells 21 News "there's still a lot of talks, this is a big thing that combines two entities that is just a lot of work, behind the scenes work that still needs to come and we just really didn't appreciate those comments."

The statement mentioned a "concerning" quote from Western Reserve Joint Fire District chief and attorney David "Chip" Comstock that reads as follows: 

"I can walk in, and some of the issues and concerns, quite frankly, I can solve tomorrow. Somebody is going to be really upset about it. I know legally I'd be right. So, the board, even though they know we have options A, B, C, & D we could utilize, hasn't brought any of those up because we don't want to."

Comstock told 21 News on the phone that simply referred to how quickly paperwork can be completed. He added that the merger is still in an exploratory phase and that there's no official draft resolution of how the merger would work. Grossman said that would be a critical step in determining the union's future position. 

"As long as it's presented in a way that is obviously giving the best service to our residents in Canfield city and Canfield Township, and I think that's been our biggest concern as far as the employees that are doing the job," Grossman said.

21 News has reached out to Cardinal Joint Fire District Chief Donald Hutchinson for a response, and we're waiting to hear back.

In the meantime, Russo responded to the union's accusations, telling 21 News that his words had been taken out of context and that he never said that the union was in favor of the merger but that he hoped they would be.

Russo went on to stress that he's told both unions that there will be bumps in the road but will correct them and that no one in either union will be hurt by the merger, describing it as a "win-win situation."

The merger would carry financial consequences for Boardman, consequences it seems the township is already bracing for.

Comstock told 21 News, "Should Boardman join the District, fire, and EMS taxes in Boardman would go up, reflecting the increase in additional services to the Boardman Community. However, the Boardman Township Trustees are working with the County Auditor to reduce spending and taxes in other areas so as to offset the increase resulting from a consolidation."