By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
The fire union in Coventry made over three hundred thousand dollars in cuts to keep the ailing fire district afloat for the next year, pending a voter referendum this week.
Fire District Chairman Frank Palin told WPRO’s Gene Valicenti he believes the concessions will be enough to save the district.
“The union has basically eliminated overtime for the rest of the year, they’ve reduced from a four-man minimum to a three-man minimum; and even if there is overtime they are deferring it,” said Palin.
The cuts equate to roughly $22,000 per firefighter, according to Palin.
Last week, Palin advocated that voters in Coventry choose to dissolve the district in order avoid further debt and move to a unified town-wide fire department. Now the district chair says voters should choose a “modest” tax increase to keep the district alive.
“I still recommend one municipal department, but this just gives us a little bit of time to do it in an orderly fashion, rather than a chaotic [one],” continued Palin.
The property tax increase would increase to $0.95 per thousand dollars, meaning a homeowner with a house valued at $200,000 would only be paying $190 in additional taxes.
Palin said he has already tried bringing motions before the Coventry Town Council to consolidate the district, but said he was overruled.
“They’re trying to stay out of it, it’s a hot potato that they don’t want anything to do with, and it’s time the council takes action.”
The referendum vote will be held Thursday.
