CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE TASKFORCE URGES LIQUIDATION

CENTRAL COVENTRY FIRE TASKFORCE URGES LIQUIDATION

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 Recommendation To Superior Court With Eye To Nov 1 Decision

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VOTES WERE INFORMED VOTES, SAYS

TASKFORCE, AND PEOPLE VOTED TO LIQUIDATE

            COVENTRY RI, OCT 29 – The Coventry Citizens Taskforce for Fire Protection today hand-delivered a recommendation to Superior Court Judge Brian Stern urging him to for the liquidation of the troubled Central Coventry Fire District.

            In a three-page letter, the Taskforce pointed to four different votes by district taxpayers demanding change that have been ignored by the Court and the General Assembly.

A fifth vote, held Monday, approved a $5.6 million budget, which the Taskforce said “did not reject fire or emergency services, but did reject the Central Coventry Fire District as it exists today.”

Monday’s lopsided 5-1 vote in favor of a budget that was the same as that passed in 2010, was passed by taxpayers who “understood well that the CCFD would need funding as it transitioned to a new operational model, but were unwilling to provide a carte blanche.

“But the amount will not last forever.  Every day that operations under the current model continue, the District will spend more than it takes in. The option is to move decisively to create a new District, or growing debt will eventually crush CCFD,” said the Taskforce.

Rose Verrier, a central Coventry resident and chair of the Taskforce, said it was time to look at a new, more efficient and economic model.

“There is something terribly amiss when a larger town such as Bristol can provide fire and emergency services for $33 per person, but it costs $377 per person to provide those same services in Central Coventry.

“Taxpayer concerns about this have been ignored for years now,” said Verrier, “and we hope the Court will have the courage to provide us with a clean slate and a clearer voice in Fire District matters.”

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