HomeMy WebLinkAboutvolunteers expenses ignite Enfield debate fire co ijVolunteers' expenses
ignite Enfield debate
Should volunteers be reim-
bursed for expenses that go above
and beyond what their duties nor -
malty require?
That's the big question now in
Enfield, as the Enfield Volunteer
Fire Company asks the town to
include money in its budget to
reimburse its members for mileage
and other expenses.
The amount the fire company
is asking for is a drop in the buck-
et: $3,000 out of the $174,044 the
town would pay the department
for its services. But the very idea of
essentially paying volunteers has
inflamed some residents and
sparked concern among some
town council members.
The request for the $3,000
stipend came about when the state
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration recently inspected
the fire company's operations, cre-
ating time-consuming paperwork
and travel for its members, said
Fire Company President Denny
Hubbell.
Fire company officials realized
there weren't funds in their budget
to reimburse people for anything
such as mileage and replacement
ribbons for personal computer
printers, Hubbell said. And it's
hard enough to get volunteers as it
is, he said, even without asking
them to payfor additional expens-
es.
"When you start having to do a
lot of running around and pulling
money out of your own pocket to
do administrative -type things,
you've got to draw the line,"
Hubbell said.
So they included as a line item
in the budget a $3,000 stipend for
the fire company president, trea-
surer and chief, who do most of
the administrative work.
When that request drew fire
from several residents at a public
hearing on the budget, fire compa-
ny officials decided the money
could be given to any of the com-
pany's members that could pro-
vide proper documentation.
But some residents were still
unhappy with the change, which
Hubbell can understand.
"It is something new," he said.
"And anytime you have anything
new, you're going to find people
LAUREN
BISHOP
that disagree with it."
But it's not something new for
Tompkins County, Hubbell point-
ed out. Several other volunteer
fire departments in the county,
including Groton, Dryden and
Lansing, reimburse at least some
of their members for expenses.
In Groton, the fire chief and
four assistant chiefs are entitled to
one tankful of gas each month —
but they don't always use it, said
Fire Chief Chris Dempsey.
"We feel we're volunteering,"
he said. "Even though it's there,
we don't always take advantage of
it"
The Lansing Fire Department
operates similarly. The fire chief
and assistant fire chief are
required to respond to fire calls
and receive 31 cents per mile, the
state mileage rate, for doing so,
said Fire Chief Chris Bums.
"To be honest, 1 kind of
thought it was standard practice,"
he said
Right now, what is standard
practice in other towns is still the
subject of fiery debate in Enfield.
The Town Board adopted its 2000
general fund and highway budgets
but was unable to reach a decision
on the fire department budget
after a marathon meeting
Wednesday night. Supervisor Jean
Owens plans to call a special Town
Board meeting to resolve the
issue. Final town budgets must be
adopted by Nov. 20.
"1 think things will get ironed
out," Hubbell said. `I don't think
it's going to be a major problem.
but I don't like it being done at the
last minute."
Lauren Bishop mvers town news in
Tompkins County. She aan be rwdwd w
274-9146.