HomeMy WebLinkAboutnewspaper articles odd and ends efvc 2_00041 nere s anarner aiue
to the Enfield
fire company fracas
In the drama unfolding in Enfield,
town residents have heard only the
views of the directors of the volun-
teer fire company. Since there are
two sides to every story, I'd like to
present some facts.
1. Last year town taxes con-
tributed $24,100 to the fire company.
Both parties recognized that this
would fall short of operating ex-
penses and that the fire company
would have to make up the dif-
ference with proceeds from their
fund-raising activities.
2. Because the taxes failed to
cover all operating expenses, the
Town Board contributed an addi-
tional $5,000 to the firemen's truck
replacement fund.
3. This year the fire company
asked the town to underwrite their
estimated operating expenses of
$36,400, thus freeing all fund-raising
proceeds for other purposes. Follow-
ing several weeks of negotiations
the Town Board has offered to meet
those expenses in full. This will
result in a 33 percent increase in the
fire tax paid by town residents.
4. The; fire company admits that
the board's offer is sufficient to
meet all their operating expenses,
but wants $5,000 more to supplement
the income from their carnival,
dues, raffles, donations, and other
fund-raisers. However, they refuse
to disclose the amount of that in-
come or how it will be spent.
5. The hidden agenda in these
negotiations is the fire company's
desire to purchase additional equip-
ment and build a new firehouse at a
potential expense of $500,000. The
Town Board has suggested that a
consultant be hired to assess the
town's fire protection needs before
tax money is allocated to that
project.
6. In announcing on Oct. 5 their
demand for $41,4011 and refusing to
move from that figure through sev-
eral attempts at negotiation, the
directors of the fire company are
attempting to usurp the power to set
the tax rate from those officials who
are elected by and accountable to
the public.
In the final analysis the in-
disputable fact remains that the
Town Board has agreed to give the
firemen the $36,400 they say they
need to continue to operate. They
refuse to accept it, refuse to disclose
their full finances, refuse to present
town residents with a com-
prehensive expansion plan, and —
sadly — threaten to refuse to pro-
vide the people of Enfield with the
outstanding emergency protection
we have come to expect of them and
respect them for.
Concerned residents should dis-
cuss their views on this disturbing
situation with their firemen and
elected officials. I remain hopeful
that reason will prevail.
IhvW Bock
Town Councilman
Enfield