Allingtown fire district makes 3rd try at budget approval

Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:11 AM EST
By Abbe Smith, Register Staff

WEST HAVEN — Five months after Allingtown voters shot down the proposed budget over an unpopular tax increase, fire commissioners will try a third time to get a budget with a proposed tax increase to pass.

Fire Chief Peter Massaro on Wednesday warned that the consequences of not passing the budget are dire.

“We’re down to rock bottom,” Massaro said. “In order to stay alive and pay the bills and the firefighters, we need this budget passed.”

The department is proposing a $4.64 million budget with a 1.25-mill increase to the tax rate — down from the 1.75-mill increase proposed in June.

Taxpayers are invited to attend the budget meeting at 7 p.m. Friday at Dodds Hall on the University of New Haven campus.

Massaro said the department and its firefighters have already made sacrifices to save money during these financially difficult times.

Firefighters gave up their raises this year, and the department renegotiated its life and liability insurance to save money. In addition to those efforts, the department switched to getting its fuel from the city, which buys in bulk at a reduced cost. Massaro said he is even looking into a new phone plan to save more cash.

“There’s nothing else we can cut,” he said.

Commissioners and fire officials have been grappling with significant financial problems that were exacerbated when the district accepted and included in its 2007-08 budget a nearly $400,000 overpayment from the city. Massaro said commissioners included the overpayment in the beginning balance when putting together the budget for 2007-08. He said the move helped keep taxes down at the time.

But since the city demanded the overpayment be paid back and ultimately withheld tax payments to the Allingtown district until the money was repaid, Allingtown was left with a shortfall.

Earlier this year, the fire department borrowed $400,000 to make ends meet. That tax anticipation note was paid back in September.

Massaro said that factor, coupled with rising expenses, put the district in a difficult financial position and justifies the need for a tax increase.He said if the tax increase is not approved, the first thing in jeopardy of being eliminated is the paramedic service.

In rejecting the budget twice already this year, residents told the commission they just don’t have the money to pay for a tax increase and asked the fire district to cut costs.

Abbe Smith can be reached at asmith@nhregister.com, or 789-5615.