By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com and the Associated Press
The Coventry Fire budget was slashed after an intense public hearing with taxpayers Tuesday night.
According to reports by WJAR, the district board proposed a near five percent tax hike along with a $2.9 million budget; however the taxpayers favored and narrowly passed a measure to cut taxes by 15%.
The fire board said they are unsure where they can cut from the budget to match the voter’s budget.
Meanwhile the district’s embattled fire chief Paul Labbadia is having his pension probed to see if his record as an employee of North Providence matches what he is collecting.
Labbadia was suspended with pay Nov. 3 after a news video report showed him drinking alcohol during the workday, using a department-paid vehicle for golfing during work and driving the fire vehicle to a party. He denied wrongdoing and says he’s on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The district has the highest fire tax in the state.
