Groton-- A committee studying the possible consolidation of the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District found it needs more information before it can recommend whether the district should be placed under the authority of Town Hall.
After a half-dozen meetings, the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District Consolidation Committee concluded the town should hire a consultant to conduct a townwide study of Groton's fire-protection services. According to the committee's draft report released this month, the panel, along with Poquonnock Bridge commissioners, considers a townwide study a top priority.
“District commissioners continue to desire consolidation, and believe it is in the best long-term interests of the town and the district,” the report said. “The committee, however, can not provide concrete information that residents might want in order to make a decision on this matter. Right now, enough information is simply not available. We don't believe the question can be answered until the town has a better handle on the overall condition of fire protection services town-wide.”
A townwide study could include a cost analysis of the fire-protection services in all fire districts in town and consider whether the town should play a role in the administration or financing of these services.
“The primary focus of this (proposed) study should be on assessing the quality and equity of fire protection services for all the citizens of Groton,” the report said.
Any townwide analysis should seek involvement of all fire districts in Groton, said Town Councilor Natalie Burfoot Billing, chairman of the Poquonnock Bridge study committee.
The committee's report has yet to be presented to the Town Council. The council created the committee in October 2003 after district commissioners approached the town about consolidating the district's governing body with the town for purposes of government “efficiencies.”
A total of nine fire districts and political subdivisions exist in Groton. Any consolidation among them would have to be initiated by the subdivisions and districts willing to give up their autonomy. The ultimate decision would be left to residents in a townwide vote and to district residents in a districtwide vote.
The Poquonnock Bridge Fire District, which encompasses the center of town, includes about 12,000, or 30 percent, of the town's residents. It also includes Groton's downtown area, commercial businesses on Routes 12 and 184, several multifamily developments and a number of government and educational buildings and other institutions.
The district, staffed by paid firefighters 24 hours a day, also “provides a significant amount of ‘backup' to other parts of town which arguably can not be reciprocated to the same degree” by the local volunteer fire departments, according to the committee's report.
The committee, which didn't start meeting until October 2004, was made up of seven voting members of the council, the district commission and the Representative Town Meeting and two non-voting members from the firefighters' union and the volunteer fire company. The committee was asked to explore consolidation, its benefits, drawbacks and financial implications.
The draft report found that consolidation of the fire district with the town “will neither save nor cost money in and of itself” because no duplication of services would be eliminated.
The committee found the district would benefit from consolidation, or increased cooperation with the town, because it would be able to tap the expertise and services of the town's finance, human resources and building departments. But the committee determined the town didn't have any means “to assess the adequacy of fire protection services town-wide.”
That concerned the committee.
“There were some questions and concerns about what is our level of readiness on a townwide basis, and right now it's unclear who would be in a position to answer that question,” Billing said.
g.alcedo@theday.com
© The Day Publishing Co., 2005
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