On the very last day of the General Assembly session, House Bill 6061 was rushed through and is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Another fire district bill sponsored by Rep. Scott Guthrie, this new legislation essentially removes citizen control over the financial management of their fire districts.
The bill does three things, and two of them are bad for Coventry.
The good thing is a requirement that fire districts perform annual, independent financial audits. That’s something we can all support.
Find out what's happening in Coventrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
But the first bad thing is permitting Coventry Fire Districts to adopt tiered taxing rates, and adding taxation of automobiles to the list.
The second horrible thing it mandates is an authorization for fire district to collect taxes at the last approved levy if taxpayers reject a budget. In others words, it negates taxpayers’ vote against unwanted tax rates.
Find out what's happening in Coventrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Similar to legislation sponsored earlier by Representatives Guthrie, Tomasso and Serpa and rejected by the General Assembly, this bill applies only to Coventry. It was passed after the election of the new Central Coventry Fire Board, a reform-minded board endorsed by the Central Coventry Citizens Taskforce, a group formed after taxpayers rejected the CCFD budget for the third time.
The new law is aimed at the CCFD, but if it becomes law, it can affect every fire district and every taxpayer in Coventry. It disincentivizes fire districts from ever changing the way they operate. It removes incentives for management to control budgets and manage resources. And it makes it doubly difficult for taxpayers to exercise constraint on the districts, something only the Citizens Taskforce in Coventry has been able to achieve until now.
We don’t want this kind of management for our fire districts. The people of Coventry, certainly those in the CCFD, have spoken loud and clear. They don’t want districts to raise more revenue, they want them to be more effective, more efficient and more affordable. Trying to lock taxpayers into high spending levels should not be an option.
This bill would not have been passed if it were a measure applying statewide. To be clear: this is the fourth attempt by Rep. Guthrie to thwart the will of the taxpayer in favor of Coventry firefighters, but one he finally succeeded in getting approved. Give him credit for persistence. But give him no credit for favoring taxpayers, or promoting good management within fire districts.
But it’s not over yet. The law has not yet been signed by into law by the Governor, and citizens who care can influence his decision. If you want to make your voice known, e-mail the Governor at governor@governor.ri.gov and urge him to veto House Bill 6061. Then call the Governor’s Office at 222-2080, and leave him another message – veto House Bill 6061. But you need to stand up, and speak out.
Do it now. Ask the Governor to veto House Bill 6061!
