Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:19 AM EST
By Abbe Smith, Register Staff
WEST HAVEN — Firefighters in Allingtown breathed a collective sigh of relief Tuesday night when a last-ditch effort to pass a budget and save the district from possible collapse succeeded — though by a narrow margin.
Residents approved the budget by a vote of 207-190, according to an initial count. Almost double the amount of people expected showed up for the meeting to cast votes on the $4.6 million budget, which includes a tax increase of 1.25 mills.
The new tax rate for the district will be 7.25 mills and will allow firefighters to avoid layoffs during the worsening financial crisis plaguing the department. The district tax rate gets added to the city’s tax rate.
Before the meeting, Fire Commission Chairman Louis P. Esposito Jr. said the situation was so dire that if the budget failed, money would have run out by the end of the month and the department would have been forced to close. The only thing that could have saved the department from collapse, he said, was if the state came in and took over or if the city decided to borrow money to bail out the department.
“This is not my intention,” he said. “I do not want to stop service.”
Several heated exchanges erupted at the meeting, held in the Forest School gym, between residents tired of tax increases and Esposito. A number of residents said they just can’t afford to pay more for fire service during the economic downturn.
“If you firemen want to keep your jobs, you have to make some sacrifices like the rest of us,” Robert Petrillo said. “Firemen can take cuts. Everyone is taking cuts.”
Resident and mother of three Dawn Roy said she cannot afford to stay home and raise her children because of the taxes.
“I don’t want to leave Allingtown, but my choices aren’t that many anymore,” she said. Roy also questioned whether the commission would be seeking another tax increase next year.
But more so than at the previous three budget meetings, residents stood up to say they intended to vote in favor of the controversial budget.
“I’m for it 100 percent, reason being there is no price on life and safety,” said resident Robert Lathrop, drawing applause from the audience.
Still others said they were grudgingly voting in favor of the budget.
“I will vote yes not because I’m in total agreement, but because I just don’t want to take the chance,” said resident Bernice Bowman. She added that she is frustrated and angry with the commissioners, not the firefighters.
Lifelong resident Margaret Krzeminski, who has spoken against the tax increase in the past, voted in favor of the budget this time around. But she said she hopes the retired firefighters living outside of the district earning pensions “off our backs” appreciate the sacrifice taxpayers are making.
“I want to see some changes,” she added.
Center District Fire Chief James P. O’Brien, who lives in Allingtown, also pleaded for residents to support the budget.
“To cut services or to have the state come in would be a little rash. Let’s work together,” he said.
The Allingtown district took a huge hit more than a year ago when it accepted and included in its budget a $400,000 overpayment from the city. When the city demanded repayment, Allingtown was left with a shortfall. The mistake angered many residents and fueled opposition to the tax increase this year.
Regardless of what happened with the budget, the district would still be strapped with a $16 million unfunded pension liability and an obligation to make pension payments for retired firefighters.
Allingtown Fire Chief Peter Massaro desperately urged residents to pass the budget in recent weeks. Firefighters even sponsored two pancake breakfasts to persuade seniors to vote for the budget or risk catastrophic service cuts. Several residents at Tuesday’s meeting accused the firefighters of using scare tactics to pressure seniors into passing the budget.
Through it all, some residents remained skeptical of the dire warnings and said they were frustrated with how the commissioners have been running the department, including the spending of the $400,000 overpayment from the city. When the budget passed, loud boos from the front of the gym drowned out applause from supporters of the budget in the back of the gym.
Abbe Smith can be reached at asmith@nhregister.com or 789-5615.
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