BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Cutlerville Fire Department will be no more, after one of the two municipalities that ran it opted to leave the agreement.

For decades, the Cutlerville Fire Department has served both Byron Township and Gaines Township out of its location on 68th Street and Division Avenue on the border of the two.

In July, Byron Township notified Gaines Township that in a year, it would leave an agreement in which both townships run the Cutlerville location. Instead, separate township fire departments would provide mutual aid to each other while still continuing to cover the Cutlerville territory.

The decision came because of a growth in population in Byron Township, according to Gaines Township Manager Rod Weersing.

“What I have heard from Byron Township officials is there accountant and they believe that their township is big enough that they can operate independently,” said Weersing.

He he believes Gaines Township was not expecting the decision. But he said the service to the area will not change.

“The biggest thing I would say for the public is, we intend to not have any change in the level of service,” said Weersing. “Over the next year, we’re going to operate as we have for 73 years.”

The Cutlerville Fire Department building on 68th Street will remain home to one of the municipalities. The other will build a new station. Gaines Township has the right of first refusal, according to Weersing, since Byron Township is the one choosing to leave the partnership.

“The intergovernmental agreement running the department will be ending, but the Cutlerville name will still be used,” Weersing said. “We have a year to work through all the minutia and hammer out how we will operate going forward.”