Voters Approve $5.2 Million Fire District Budget

There were no additional nominations from the 29 people attending the East Greenwich Fire District financial meeting Monday night and Commissioner Mark Gee was unanimously re-elected to a second term. Mark Fay was also re-elected  Moderator.

However Commissioner Jim Harris, who has served on the Commission for one year, has taken a position in county government in North Carolina and leaves for his new job Thursday.

Board Chairman Doug Axelsen says it is the task of the commissioners to find a candidate to fill the remainder of Harris’ term and they will be holding that discussion soon.

In the report from the Commission at the start of the meeting Axelsen said the commissioners would be meeting with the Town Council Thursday night to talk about combining the independent Fire District with the town.

A planning commission, appointed by the district, has reviewed arrangements in other communities to assess benefits and liabilities. The group was not asked to make a recommendation.

Axelsen said he personally opposes a merger.  While the town and Fire District are cooperating in a number of areas, including tax billing, Axelsen says he thinks the Fire District is doing a good job on its own. He pointed to the combined dispatch operation which should be in place with Warwick this fall, the fact the department is debt free, and that it has found additional income sources to hold down the cost to taxpayers.

Axelsen also said this would be his last year on the Commission, that two terms are enough. Commissioners are not term limited, but he thinks they should be to generate new ideas and avoid stagnation.

All 14 budget resolutions were unanimously approved by the small crowd. The 2012 tax rate was set at $1.78, an increase of 2.3% from the current levy of $1.74. The $1.78 per thousand in property taxes will generate $4,182,255.00 of the $5,225,561 total budget with the rest coming from payments in lieu of taxes and non-tax revenue.