Philadelphia studies fire district status

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Fire Department is looking into whether it would be beneficial to town and village taxpayers for the volunteer department to become a fire district.

A district is different from a municipal department because it establishes a publicly elected board that has the authority to impose a separate tax to fund the department. Currently, the Philadelphia department is incorporated through the village and funding is shared by the village and town.

According to budget figures, the village and town pay about $40,000 each to operate the department. That includes fuel for the vehicles and insurance on the volunteer firefighters, building and equipment. The village owns the fire barn, at 1 Antwerp St., and all of the equipment and vehicles.

Rodney C. LaMora, a volunteer firefighter and chairman of the committee exploring the creation of the district, said a district would allow the department to manage itself financially instead of having to defer to the town and village boards for budgetary approvals.

"We're not looking for more money; we are looking to be able to pay the bills in a different way. It would really only change the governing body," he said. "And we hope that the district would be able to own the apparatus and equipment."

Village Mayor Matthew J. Montroy said he doesn't see how establishing the district could hurt the village or the town. He said he was happy to see the department looking at alternatives.

"Benefit for us, as elected officials, we won't need to deal with it any more," Mr. Montroy said. "You have village and town officials making decisions and they don't exactly know what the fire department needs are. The board elected as the fire council could have more experience in emergency services and keep better track of what they need."

Town Supervisor Cheryl K. Horton said she did not know enough about the issue to be able to comment.

Mr. LaMora said his four-person committee is just beginning to look into the option. He said he was unsure of the specifics, but knew the process would start with a meeting among the department, village Board of Trustees and Town Council.

William N. Young, a board member with the Association of Fire Districts in the State of New York, said the two municipal boards would have to approve the plan before anything else can happen. Following those meetings and a positive response from the two boards, the public would have the option to petition for a special referendum on the creation of the fire district. If voters approve, or no referendum is requested and the two boards approve the district, the district would be formed.

The district would establish a five-person Board of Commissioners with five-year terms. The only person not allowed to serve on the board would be the fire chief, but all other town or village residents— firefighters or not — would be allowed to run.

Mr. Young said the one advantage of a fire district over a village-run department is better fire protection because the fire commissioners are not concerned with anything else.

"The board of fire commissioners, who are elected, serve without compensation and they have one reason to exist, and that is to provide the best fire protection to the community," he said. "The village could have a lot of things on their plate. From my experience, villages are usually happy to turn over the responsibility to another group of individuals."

Kevin L. Hall, the Evans Mills Fire Department chief, said that since his department became a district in 2001, it has been able to achieve things unthinkable before that time.

"It has worked out well for us. We got a new building, a new facility which we wouldn't have gotten without the district," he said. "We got a rescue truck that will be delivered in a couple weeks, and we bought a new engine when we first made the change. It's just stuff that our village wouldn't be able to afford on its own."