Friends of the Heuvelton Volunteer Fire Department, As you may or may not have heard, the Village of Heuvelton is in the middle of budget negotiations with the Town of Oswegatchie. I would like to try and inform everyone of what is happening and where we are in the process. First of all, the Fire Department is owned and operated by the Village of Heuvelton. The Village owns all of the equipment, property, and buildings. Every year, the Village asks department heads for an expected cost of running their departments for the next year. Our Chief is one of those department heads. After the Village receives those estimates, they set their budget for the year, adjusting tax rates and fees based on anticipated needs. The Village then has contracts with the Towns of Oswegatchie, Depeyster, and Macomb that are charged based on size of area covered which also reflects amount of calls responded to in each Town. This process was updated a few years ago because the Fire Department budget was loosing ground as costs continued to rise. The Towns all increased their portions tremendously to get the Department on track and up to date. Since then, we have increased our budget a little bit every year to keep up with costs. Through this process we have maintained good, safe equipment and also managed to create a reserve fund to for capital expenses which we feel is the responsible thing to do (As part of our 20 year equipment replacement plan we are currently looking at replacing a 18 year old engine that will be between $350,000 to $400,000). Like other years, this year we have asked for a 3% raise from all entities. This is comparable to what we have received in the past contract years. Currently, our total operating budget is $152,551 with the Village of Heuvelton contributing $19,069; Oswegatchie contributing $108,261; Depeyster contributing $18,455; and Macomb contributing $6,766. Current tax rates are: Town of Oswegatchie $0.6073 per $1000 assessed value Town of Depeyster $0.6120 per $1000 assessed value Village of Heuvelton $0.7761 per $1000 assessed value *Town of Macomb $0.4801 per $1000 assessed value *HVFD protects less than 1/3 of the Town of Macombs residents A 3% raise in these contributions will increase our budget by $4,576.53. This increases Heuvelton by $572.07; Oswegatchie by $3,247.83; Depeyster by $553.65; and Macomb by $202.98. A small amount in the overall budget of each group. Also keeping mind that Village of Heuvelton residents also pay Town of Oswegatchie taxes. The Village of Heuvelton, Town of Depeyster, and the Town of Macomb have already signed the contracts for the year. The Town of Oswegatchie is refusing to agree with this contract. If they do not sign this contract before the end of the year, the Town of Oswegatchie residents will not have fire protection. The town will have to rely on the County Mutual Aid system until they get contracts with other fire departments (by law they must have a contract for fire protection). Take a minute and think about where your firefighter or EMT will come from if they dont come from Heuvelton (a long time when seconds matter). Of course we will not let those we serve down and will continue to operate for as long as we can but this will cause a domino effect on the Department. We not be able to maintain the equipment we have, we will lose members, we will not be able to keep the building we are in which also serves as a community building, and eventually we will have to cease operations. We do not want this at all. It will not be good for anyone in the community. We are asking for your support and voice your opinion. Either come to the next Town of Oswegatchie board meeting on Monday September 8, or contact one of your Town Board Members. Where do your donations go when you give to the Fire Department? We also have our own department budget that your donations fund along with our fundraisers. This money buys our members food and drinks when we are at a department function, scholarships at school, traveling money for our members when they are in need because of family or medical issues, donations to other causes, and extra equipment that makes our jobs that much easier. Last year the Department spent over $51,000 out of our own budget on equipment and building improvements. We have always allowed the Towns and Village access to our budget for inspection. Your donations and participation in our fundraisers are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions please contact a member and they will be glad to explain any part of our operation. Thank you for your support. HVFD
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 13:16:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015