Frustrated Coventry Taxpayers Slash Fire District Budget, Overturn Board

Coventry taxpayers came out en masse to the Coventry (Anthony) Fire District budget meeting last night and balked at a proposed tax increase, opting instead to slash the district’s budget by $432,000, or 15 percent, and vote out all but one board member.

Another board member, Lt. John Botello, resigned after the budget vote.

The board had proposed $2.9 million budget, representing an increase of 4.75 percent but a majority of taxpayers sat through a nearly three-hour meeting and successfully proposed and secured the 15 percent cut.

The highest-taxed fire district in the state, the Coventry Fire District still is facing financial problems. Last month, the fire union warned that the district is in dire straits and had fallen behind on bills and required pension payments for firefighters.

Coventry resident Frank Palin offered the motion to cut the budget, which now sets the tax rate at .26 cents per $100 of assessed value for residents and .39 cents for commercial and industrial.

“We have been robbed for years and enough is enough,” he said. “We’ve got to stop it.”

Palin now finds himself a board member, after he was nominated and voted in by residents who also supported the three candidates backed by the group Anthony Citizens Taskforce for Fire Protection: Brenda Raposo, Joel Johnson and Sam Rachiele.

Sitting Vicent D’Onofrio remains on the board and has been considered to be an advocate to taxpayers, said Coventry Rep. Patricia Morgan in an interview.

In all, “the board has been completeley remade,” Morgan said. “They’re strong, they’re ethical and they know why they’ve been elected.”

Morgan said the board has major challenges up ahead, including the budget and the fate of disgraced Fire Chief Paul Labbadia, who was caught on tape by Target 12 as he drank alcohol and smoked pot before driving his work-issued vehicle. He also was recorded over a period of several months as he played golf, sat at home and otherwise engaged in private activities while on the clock.

In the latest revelation, Labbadia is reportedly under investigation by state officials for discrepancies in his pension records.

WPRI reported that the General Treasurer’s office and the State Police are looking into Labbadia’s purchase of three years of pension credits to qualify for a pension of 20 years of service after working 17 years while a firefighter in North Providence.

Records show Labbadia claimed to have worked from Jan. 22 of 1979 to Aug. 31 of 1989 as an on-call member of the North Providence Call System, but records supplied by the town showed he only worked from 1982 to 1989.

A General Treasurer spokeswoman said that if the pension was inaccurate, Labbadia would owe money back to the pension trust.

Labbadia collects a pension of $2,372.09 per month from North Providence, but it is currently on suspension as he works as Chief in Coventry. By law, he can collect both for 75 days a year.

Before the votes, board members warned of the possibility that the district would go bankrupt without the tax increase.

But residents weren’t buying it.

According to a balance sheet purportedly from the Antony Fire District, the district is running a deficit of $199,849 in the current fiscal year. It also shows expenses have increased from $1.9 million to $2.5 million per year since 2007.

To review the entire budget document, click here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywfdm5uhdtxkmsb/AFD%20Budget%20doc%27s%20Nov%206%202014.pdf?dl=0

Photo Courtesy: Ken Block