Bridgehampton Residents Vote to Approve Purchase of New $1 Million Fire Truck

Bridgehampton Fire District residents voted to approve the purchase of a new fire truck worth $1 million during a bond referendum vote on Tuesday.

Residents approved the purchase through a 10-year $850,000 bond by a 78-33 vote. There were a total of 113 votes by the district only counted 111 since the remaining two people might not have been registered to vote in the district.

The extra $150,000 towards the truck will be offset because the board of fire commissioners will be using some reserve funds toward the purchase, The East Hampton Star reports.

In addition, voters approved a $3.02 million tax levy for 2016, which is a 33 percent increase or $747,400 more than the 2015 $2.28 million tax levy, 27east reports.

The attorney for the fire district, Bradley Pinsky, explained Tuesday that the tax increase per $1,000 of assessed property value is $0.50, which means that the owner of a $500,000 home would pay $25 more in 2016.

The results were announced by fire commissioner Bruce Dombkowski, who said the new truck will be “the best thing that ever happened to this district.”

The truck, which is a “Ferrara Quint truck”, has a large water tank, foam and a 77-foot ladder, and will be replacing one of the old fire engine which was supposed to be retired in 1989, according to 27east.

The district is expected to receive the truck sometime in 2016.

The vote has drawn some controversy over the past few weeks after members of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee became upset that the fire commissioners did not explain to the committee why they needed the new truck or why the district will be increasing the budget, Sag Harbor Online reports.

The committee then asked residents to vote against the bond and requested that the fire district hold off on the purchase until they gave more information on the necessity of the truck to locals, according to Sag Harbor Online.