At the Apr. 2 Annual Meeting of the Western Coventry Fire District, all resolutions offered on behalf of the Board were adopted unanimously by the approximately 60 District residents who attended. 

Included was the Resolution approving the budget proposed by the Board of Directors for the coming year. 

“The strong support shown by the District residents attending the Annual Meeting should be seen as a testament to the dedication and superior quality of service to the community by each and every member of the Department," said Board Chair John Humble. "It is also gratifying that the substantial number of residents attending the Annual Meeting unanimously supported the recommendations of the Board including the budget for next year.”

The current incumbents for the offices of Tax Collector, Joan Smith; Treasurer, Glenn Underwood; and Board Member, Richard Holt were returned for another term. Cheryl Wilcox was elected as the new District Clerk. 

The Moderator of the meeting, David D’Agostino, after noting that there was an objection by one of the two candidates for Moderator, Kent Novak, that the advance notice of qualified candidates for District Moderator had been given 16 days rather than 30 days in advance of the meeting, asked for a motion to delay the election of the Moderator until the full 30-day period had elapsed. No such motion was offered and no one spoke from the floor in favor of a delay.

Instead there was a motion from the floor, adopted unanimously by the voters at the meeting, that 16 days be declared adequate notice within the spirit and intent of the District’s rules. The election was then held with Skip Mays receiving a unanimous vote.

Reports were provided by the Board, the Tax Collector, the Treasurer and the Interim Fire Chief. Legal Counsel addressed the meeting with his report because such a substantial portion of the District’s legal expenditures for the prior year were directed to responding to technical procedural complaints by Mr. Novak to the Attorney General. 

To date, the AG has elected to take no action against the District for these few and technical violations, finding no intentional or willful violation by the District.  Legal Counsel noted that, for an organization of its size, the District had an outstanding record of openness, and of generally meeting the requirements of the Open Records Act and the Access to Public Records Act.

For budget figures and resolutions passed, see pages 19-21 in the attached PDF.