Whitehall Fire Co. seeks new contract

You are currently viewing Whitehall Fire Co. seeks new contract

By Dan King

Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company is looking for a three-year fire protection contract that would increase its budget 3 percent each year.
Deputy Chief Brian Brooks gave copies of the proposal to both the town and village and last Wednesday pitched the proposal to the town board.
“We’re getting BMW service for a Scion budget,” Brooks said to the town board.
The 2016 contract gave the fire company $126,247 in town funds.
During his discussion with the board, Brooks also made a pitch – as he has in the past – to bring the village into the town’s fire protection district and building a live fire training facility in town. He said now firefighters have to go to Lake Placid or Ballston Spa for live training.
In a letter, Brooks argued that adding village fire protection to the town’s district would “ensure a fair burden for all taxpayers, while providing the best in fire protection, fire prevention and rescue services.”
He said that would be accomplished by creating a “town-wide fire tax on each parcel.”
Supervisor George Armstrong said he wanted to sit down with Brooks and Mayor Ken Bartholomew to talk about the proposal, because “I still don’t appreciate the difference between what the town pays and what the village pays.”
Brooks said that putting the village under the town’s protection district would “ensure the fire company’s immediate needs are being met,” such as the cost of turnout gear and the possibility of the training center.
Bringing the village under the town’s fire protection would eliminate that budget line from the village’s budget. If that were to be done, the current fire protection contract would be “null and void” and would need to be renegotiated.
One thing Brooks said would be beneficial to the fire company is that solar farms in town are not exempt from special district taxes, so they will pay full taxes for fire protection.
Armstrong said he would like to finalize the company’s contract soon, because the current one expires at the end of the year.
“The company does a great job,” he said.