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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcontract enfield residents simmer over fire, dustup ij_00026a LOCAL NEWS Enfield exploring possib' 't1, Change would create another government arm By Tim Ashmore tashmore pithacalournatcom Journal Staff ,i4l[E]LD — In the next few weeksb-Enfield residents will have a chance to voice opinions and hear arguments for chang- ing. Enfield's fire protection structure from a fire protection district to a fire district. Negotiations between the Enfield Town Board and the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company CONTINUED FROM lA will hold a public hearing for cit- izens to voice their opinions on changing how fire protection is provided in Enfield. On two occasions, the town board and fire company had to extend the 2006 contract when they failed to agree to a contract before their deadline. An exten- sion was signed Dec. 31, 2006 and a second time Feb. 28. Before the second extension, Enfield Elementary School was forced to develop a contingency plan if the contract wasn't ex- tended. The Feb. 28 extension had school officials and staff on edge before the extension was signed sometime after midnight. The contract that was origi- nally requested in August 2006 by the fire company was a4 per- cent increase over the previous contract, which came to just more than $250,000. Peggy HubbeUcaBedtheAugust proposal a one-page request for $250,000 without specifics. The biggest increases in the budget were for loans for new fire equipment, a breathing -air compressorservicecontract and increases in fuel and insurance prices. But some board members and some local residents think re- cent fire company spendinghas been irresponsible. During negotiations some Enfield residents complained that their fire taxes are among thdbighest in Tompkins County at $1_65 per $1,000 of assessed prgRerty value. Denny Hubbell said that it's difficult to draw that conclusion because people don't always take into account the tax- able base in Enfield, which is match smaller thanother munic- ipalities in the county. Tompkins County Legislator Greg S t evenson, D -Newfield and Enfield, is aformer fire chiefand a former town board member. He said that during his term as fire chief, quarterly reports were submitted to the townboard. He also admitted that different town boards like to see different ways of reporting. Town board member Sandy Small said that in 2004 and 2005, the town board didn't submit fi- nancial reports of any kind. The town board came back to the fire company with a $200,000 contract offer. "I think that was a reactionary f*e, Dave Dimmick, a town resident who was present for many of the negotiations, said of the fust offer, which was a 17 perceot decrease from the ini- tial request. "I thought it was a starting point to begin negotia- tions." But the $200,000 offer was the product oftownboard members Peggy Hubbell, Sandy Small and Robert Harvey and three town residents, Town Supervisor Jean Owens said. Dimmick is the on- ly resident to publicly announce that he was part of that process. Town, fire co. divisions At the Sept. 13, 2006 board meeting, Dimmick said, it ap- peared as if there were deep di- visions between the people of the town and the fire company. Some of these divisions may be residents'reaction to the fire cora any'sbuilding,perchedon ahill behind the town hall. The buildingwas finished in19ft af- ter volunteers moved into the new building in June ofthat year, the old fire company building was donated to the town board. In 2001, the fire company moved ahead with a $180,000 capital project and renovated the fire hall. It is now arguably the nicest public building in Enfield. ,The fire company has a lot of foresight," Enfield fire chief Ron Switzer said. "We outgrew +w took nearly three and a half months longer than scheduled and in February, Enfield schools were nearly shut downwhile the two parties couldn't agree to a new contract and had to scram- ble to extend the existing con- tract. As a fire protection district (which Enfield currently is), the town board is legally responsible forcontractingfireprotectionfor townresidents. Lee Shurtleff, the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response Director, said in fire protection districts town boards do not have the le- gal authority to operate a fire de- partment. So for more than 50 years, the Town of Enfield and the old building and (when we) build something, we do it right and (we) do it once." There are also divisions be- tween the town board and the fire company, as the minutes from the Oct. 23, 2006 board meeting point out. At the meeting, town resident and fire company volunteer Ed Hetherington read a statement that said: 'There is apresent townboard member who has had an ongo- ing complaint against her, neigh- bor, who also happens to be her nephew. She has been complain- ing that his kids ride their ATVs (all terrain vehicles) on their own property making noise. I don't know an ATV that does- n't make noise. It doesn't stop there. Shetookhernephew, who is also the president of the E V FC, to court, lost the court case and owes the nephew money. She should not be allowed to vote on the fire department budget and the reasons are obvious." Denny said Peggy still owes him money, but she disputes that claim. "I don't owe him any money," she said.'This is all Hubbell his- tory. I'm just a foreigner that got pulled into it" Peggy Hubbell married into the Hubbell family, and said the dispute goes back to an issue be- tween her husband and his broth- er, who is Denny Hubbell's fa- ther. She maintains that she has nothing to do with that dispute and said that she doesn't think that issue is mlevarittohertesva board business. This came after Owens re- signed from the emergency re- sponse part of the fire company to quell some town board mem- bers' accusations that she would forget her duties as town super- visor in order to benefit the fire company. "I was not involved in the fi- nances of the fire department at any level," Owens said of her eight years as an emergency medical technicianfor the E V FC. Dimmick brought up Owens' the fire company have signed con- tractswith one another. Fire districts separate munic- ipal boards and fire departments and essentially create an inde- pendent branch of government entirely focused on fire protec- tion. Aboard of elected fire com- missioners is established to oversee the fire department's spending to represent the de- partment publicly. Ifthe change occursresidents would see a new fire tax they're not used to in the first year, but town taxes would decrease since the town would no longer pay for fire service. Residents would also have a chance to hold the fire depart - conflict of interest as a member of both parties at the Sept. 13 town board meeting, according to the minutes. David Owens, Jean's husband, is also a member of the fire com- pany's board ofdirectors, which led some to believe Jean had a conflict of interest, and she was asked to remove herself from the negotiations. She did not. "I don't think the state comp- troller would necessarily rule that Jean Owens had a conflict of interest," Stevenson said. Despite these divisions, nego- tiations muddled in minutia con- tinued. When negotiations began, Small presented a proposal to create a committee composed of two town board members, two fire company members and four objective Enfield residents to draw up a reasonable contract "I'm confused by the town board's desire to farm out their responsibility to get an agree- ment in negotiating with the fire company," Stevenson said. "It's their responsibility to negotiate for fire protection." Denny Hubbell requested a re-formation of the committee at the Sept. 13 board meeting, but board member Robert Harvey said the committee was already agreed upon and wouldn't he changed. Denny Hubbellsaid that if they were working with a commit- tee, the two members from the town board along with the two fire company participants should choose the four residents. The committee was never formed because neither town board members nor fire compa- ny members ever suggested who the four members of the public would be to work with them, Owens said. Searching for solutions In a telephone interview after the contract was signed, Denny Hubbellsaid he wanted the com- mittee changed because he pre- ferred to work directly with the town as they had in the past.