(May 18, 2017) Town of Berlin officials balked last year when the Berlin Fire Company requested more than $1 million in funding from the town, more than double what had been allocated during the two previous years.
Instead, the mayor and council kept its allocation to fire and EMS a flat $400,000, and said a lack of information made it difficult to justify such a drastic increase.
This year, Mayor Gee Williams said the town is budgeting $250,000, plus an additional $150,000 if the fire company agrees to third-party funding study that would help determine future needs.
Williams said the study was discussed during a budget work session last May and that Fire Company President David Fitzgerald had initially agreed.
“They agreed. They were there in person,” Williams said. “This year’s budget is identical to last year in both the amount of money and the contingency on the $150,000 … the budget is exactly the same and the conditions are exactly the same.”
According to Berlin budget documents available online, the fiscal 2015, 2016 and 2017 budgets included $250,000 for fire and EMS operations and $150,000 for fire and EMS capital reserve funding.
The budget draft this year has $250,000 for fire and EMS operations and $150,000 under a column labeled “funding studies.”
Williams said the $250,000 could be used “any way that they deem appropriate,” from replacing equipment to funding for a new fire station. However, he said fire company and town officials have not “sat down and come up with a mutually accepted plan for operating expenses and short-term and long-term capital expenses.”
“We’re saying that the Town of Berlin Mayor and Council – not any one individual – is stating the same thing we did last year,” Williams said. “The Town of Berlin will contract with an experienced professional in the field of firefighting and EMS services to do a study of what their needs are for operating expenses, equipment and for capital expenses. Certainly, all those things in the short term, but also to do a longer-range projection so we can start planning like we do for everything else.”
The fire company allocation is the single-largest grant the town provides to any agency, Williams said.
“We need the same kind of information that we base everything else on,” he said. “We have the in-house professional staff and years of experience with the electric utility, public works, water resources and so on. But if we’re going to continue to grant what we have with what they’re stating – that they’re going to need even more money in the future – then we need a professional, objective rationale for what that would be and why.”
Williams said the town has not seen any bookkeeping information from the fire company. The company does participate in an annual audit by an outside firm the town hires.
“Basically, we have the minimum necessary so we can at least track what is happening with the money,” Williams said. “Now we need to know, if you want more money … we need an objective and informed recommendation from a professional in the field.
“It’s not 1967 – it’s not even 2007,” Williams continued. “It’s 2017, and like many municipalities, we have changed with the times. It’s just something you have to do.”
He added the fire company is being treated no differently than any other municipal department or agency.
“We can’t have one set of rules and one set of operating procedures for the grant making we do for all the town departments and a completely different set of criteria and requirements for the largest grants we make – by far,” he said. “The nonprofits come in for $5,000 and make a presentation. That’s for the smallest grants we have.”
Fire company officials did not show up for town budget hearings this year, despite being invited to do so, Williams said.
Fitzgerald and Fire Chief Jim Corron attended a work session last year.
“It’s not the town’s job to call and say, ‘where are you?’ We’re all adults here,” Williams said. “I think in time this will all work out. The next step is to have this comprehensive study that is independent.”
Asked if Williams expected to hear from the Berlin Fire Company before an expected vote to approve the fiscal year 2018 budget, June 12, he replied, “Quite honestly, I don’t know what to expect anymore.”
Fitzgerald did not return calls and emails for comment.