West Shore faces $30M pension liability

Thursday, December 25, 2008 6:52 AM EST

By Abbe Smith, Register Staff

WEST HAVEN — A week after the Allingtown Fire Department narrowly avoided possible collapse due to budgetary woes, the West Shore Fire Department is facing its own financial crisis.

However, fire officials here say the situation is not as dire.

“We are not in an Allingtown situation,” Fire Commission Chairman John Biancur said, adding: “No one is going to be laid off.”

West Shore Fire Chief David Collins said the district’s financial problems stem mostly from failures to fund the pension properly and a rash of retirements over the past year. The district has an unfunded pension liability of more than $30 million.

Since April, the department has had six retirements, including those of former Chief Harold “Hal” Burns and former Deputy Chief Clifford Burns. In May, fire commissioners told residents that five last-minute planned firefighter retirements drove them to propose a tax increase for this year.

But voters, skeptical of the claims, rejected the budget and its 0.41-mill increase.

Collins said the warnings he and commissioners gave at the annual meeting about retirements now have come true.

Collins said the district now is expecting another retirement due to an injury in the spring and possibly two more retirements in July.

Regarding the district’s pension problems, Collins said matters are only getting worse.

“Instead of raising taxes as they should have in the past, they did not and we are paying the bill now,” he said. “That bill is only going to get larger the more we don’t continue to fund the pension.”

Collins said taxes haven’t been raised in the district in three years.

The rate is 5.89 mills and gets added to the city’s tax rate.

The department is taking steps to address budgetary problems, including not filling two assistant chief positions that are vacant. One of those positions may be filled in the coming months, however.

Commissioners also have cut back the utility firefighter schedule from seven nights a week to three.

Utility firefighters get paid to work one night a week to augment the night shift.

“We have had to cut back services and definitely do more with less. The call volume is heavier than ever,” Collins said.

The department has secured a line of credit up to $250,000 and may have to borrow the money to pay expenses if cash runs out before the end of the month, Biancur said.

Complicating matters is the fact that the department believes it is owed $225,000 in taxes from the city.

Biancur explained that West Shore officials budgeted for a certain amount of money they expected to collect in taxes this year, and they are $225,000 short of that goal.

“We are not accusing the city of short-paying us,” Biancur stressed, adding fire officials are working with city officials to straighten out the matter. Biancur said Finance Director Robert Barron has been very helpful in providing information from the city side.

On the bright side, Biancur said the district is looking to hire at least two firefighters next year and hopes to have them in the academy by February.

Biancur said commissioners are aware that money is tight in the district, but they are handling the situation to the best of their abilities.

“We have been working very hard to pinch every penny,” he said.

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

URL: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/12/25/news/metro/b1-whwestshore.prt