A warrant article that would have allowed the Greenfield Fire Department to buy a new tanker didn’t snatch the two-thirds majority vote it needed to pass at Town Meeting on Saturday.
The item lost in a 67 “yes” to 41 “no” vote. The $242,000 tanker picked up the majority of votes, but still not quite enough to pass. The article would have allowed $121,300 to be withdrawn from a Fire/ Rescue Apparatus Capital Reserve Fund, with the remaining $120,700 to be paid over the course of five years in $27,000 increments.
In an unlikely move, residents later voted to place $94,000 into the Fire/ Rescue Apparatus Capital Reserve Fund instead of the proposed $40,000. The increase would give the department more money to purchase a tanker.
In a message to the Ledger-Transcript after Town Meeting, Fire Chief David Hall said the decision gives the department “a way forward,” although it remains unclear if it will purchase a new or used tanker.
The town’s previous tanker, which Hall said was not worth fixing, was handed off to the New Boston Fire Department in a swap. Greenfield received a brush truck during the transaction. The move has left Greenfield without a fire tanker for about a year.
“I have said again and again, we need a tanker,” Hall said in the message to the Ledger.
The fire department has trucks that can carry a substantial amount of water to the scene of a fire, but not enough people to operate each of the vehicles in some cases. A tanker would be able to carry a large amount of water in a single vehicle.
Select board member Robert Marshall spoke in favor of purchasing a new tanker.
“The importance of having water delivered to the fire in adequate amounts is critical I think to the safety of all of our properties and to ourselves as individuals,” Marshall said.
Select board Chair Margo Charig Bliss said she was opposed to buying a new tanker.
Charig Bliss said “the future is very uncertain.” She said the Peterborough ambulance service has gone up 359 percent in the past six years with “no indication it’s going the other way.” She said Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center is “struggling,” stating that the organization has approached the town asking to lower its Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement. She said the Town Office and the Meeting House are also going to need repairs in the future.
Each of those things could push the tax rate up. And, she said, that’s hard on some people.
“Every week we see the welfare receipts come across our desk for people who cannot pay their utilities, their gasoline, their fuel, what most of us would consider regular monthly expenses. There are some people in this room that are having trouble keeping their heads above water,” Charig Bliss said. “…Personally, I don’t think it’s time for a new truck.”
She said one way or another, the select board is committed to buying some tanker for the department to use. She said the board would draw money out of the department’s capital reserve fund in order to purchase a truck.
The article drew many public comments and questions, as residents worked through how the town should proceed.
A proposed amendment to increase the fire chief’s stipend by $2,500 was struck down by voters.
Jeff LaCourse, deputy chief, proposed increasing the fire chief’s stipend from $22,500 per year to $25,000. The amendment would have increased the department’s overall budget from $134,460 to $136,960.
LaCourse argued the position requires “high-level training leadership skills and daytime hours.” He said the majority of the town’s calls come in during the day when most of the department’s volunteers are out of town working and said Hall essentially anchors the department from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. LaCourse said the department hasn’t missed a call in three years.
He said a raise should also be implemented to attract qualified applicants when Hall retires.
“The question becomes, will we be able to fill this position when [Hall] retires?” LaCourse said, adding that a boost in pay would help incentivize the position.
The select board voted against increasing the chief’s salary.
Charig Bliss said the job is currently a volunteer position with a stipend. She said if the town pays a stipend greater than 20 percent of what a full-time person collects, the position would no longer be considered a volunteer position, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. She said at that point it would be considered a part-time or full-time position, which could mean the town would have to add benefits into the package deal.
“We are creeping toward a part-time position and we should all be aware of that,” she said. “We cannot just jack up the stipend indefinitely before you get into a whole different category of employee.”
She said the select board felt the $22,500 stipend currently offered to the chief is sufficient at this time.
Voters did approve the proposed fire department budget. Voters also approved the department of public works, police, and recycling center budgets.
Abby Kessler can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or akessler@ledgertranscript.com.