Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Taskforce Broadening Membership, Preparing For Election
COVENTRY – In the wake of a Friday Superior Court hearing most believe heralds elections for a new Board for the imperiled Fire District, the Coventry Citizens Taskforce today scheduled a meeting for tonight, May 14, and launched a renewed effort to expand its membership and get organized for elections. The group recently launched a website at coventrycitizens.com, and is actively using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to get its message out and engage its members. But it hasn’t forgotten the old tools, either, and the group has begun to distribute “Had Enough Of Fire Taxes?” lawn signs throughout Coventry. The eye-catching, red-and-black signs state the high tax issue and encourage residents to login at the Taskforce website. …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Special Master Rick Land and several local legislators Friday provided the court with a progress update of the ongoing CCFD case.
During a Central Coventry Fire District status update in Kent County Superior Court on Friday, Judge Brian P. Stern asked Special Master Richard Land to share with the court the latest progress made regarding the district's attempt to avoid liquidation. Land explained that as of Friday, he had $42,200 in cash on hand to fund district operations and had received the second of two $150,000 loan checks from the Town of Coventry that morning. Apart from the initial loan check from the Town, Land also recently received approximately $156,000 in tax payments and rescue run recovery funds that have been used to pay ongoing expenses. He said that since March, CCFD has continued to operate, but with a significantly reduced staffing structure …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Town Council members confirmed their 4-1 passage of the $300,000 loan to ensure compliance with state and local Open Meetings laws.
Following the filing of a complaint with the office of Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, the Coventry Town Council on Monday chose to confirm its April 9 vote authorizing the Town to loan Central Coventry Fire District Special Master Richard Land up to $300,000 to keep the district operational for several more weeks. According to Town Solicitor Fred Tobin, the complaint was in regards to an Emergency Meeting for April 9, called by Council President Gary Cote during a routine Council session on April 8. The complainant claimed the Town had violated the RI Open Meetings Act (OMA) which requires a minimum notice of 48 hours prior to a municipal meeting. Tobin went on to explain that the Coventry Town Charter only requires a 12-hour notice …
41.701477
-71.591486
Town of Coventry - Town Hall
1670 Flat River Rd, Coventry, RI
/articles/council-reaffirms-vote-regarding-300k-ccfd-loan
508332
/locations/9306683
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The $300K loan will allow additional time for legislation to be passed and taxpayers to be informed about all aspects of a possible CCFD liquidation.
At Tuesday night's emotionally-charged emergency Special Meeting, four of the five Coventry Town Council members voted in favor of putting forth a motion in court requesting authorization for the Town to loan the Central Coventry Fire District a maximum of $300,000 to continue the delivery of emergency services for several more weeks. Following the motion being filed in Kent County Superior Court, Judge Brian P. Stern held a hearing on Wednesday afternoon during which testimony from various legal counsel was heard in respect to the proposed loan. Atty. Nick Gorham, representing Rep. Patricia Morgan, Sen. Nick Kettle and Councilwoman Karen Carlson (the opposing Council vote), spoke against the loan, saying that the Coventry Town Charter…
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
A 4-to-1 vote enabled the Town of Coventry to seek court authorization to loan a maximum of $300,000 to the foundering Central Coventry Fire District.
Dozens of Coventry residents gathered in Town Council Chambers at Town Hall Tuesday night for an emergency Special Meeting to bear witness to a discussion by Council members regarding a suggested loan from the Town of Coventry to the Central Coventry Fire District. The loan, proposed at Monday night's Council meeting by President Gary Cote, would not exceed $300,000 and would bridge the gap between Apr. 11 when the district will be out of funds and officially closed per order of the court, and May 15 when its third quarter tax bills are due. As of that date, tax revenue would be used to begin loan repayment to the Town of Coventry. The loan would also allow state and local legislators additional time to develop and introduce legislation …
41.701477
-71.591486
Town of Coventry - Town Hall
1670 Flat River Rd, Coventry, RI
/articles/council-approves-proposed-300k-town-loan-to-fire-district
508332
/locations/9203600
Rep. Morgan believes that uncollected fire district taxes could fund fire
and emergency operations for months.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Tuesday, April 9
STATE HOUSE, APR 9 – A proposal to spend $300,000 to keep the failed Central Coventry Fire District operating for a few more weeks is “absolutely irresponsible” says State Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick). The Coventry Town Council will be asked tonight to “loan” the soon-in-liquidation Central Coventry Fire District $300,000 to maintain operations for a few weeks, until some other solution is found to provide residents with fire and emergency services on a permanent basis. The Court overseeing the liquidation of the Fire District must approve such a plan, however. “We have offers in hand from well-established private ambulance companies that tell us we can base two fully-staffed ambulances in Coventry, 24/7, for…
Monday, April 8, 2013
A proposed plan to loan the nearly-dissolved fire district will be discussed Tuesday night.
During a Monday afternoon hearing in Kent County Superior Court, Judge Brian Stern strongly suggested to CCFD Special Master Rick Land, as well as state and town officials, that they attempt to find a quick fix of at least $200,000 to temporarily keep the district open. If accomplished, the district may be able to remain operational until legislators can devise a long-term plan for providing fire and emergency service to residents of Central Coventry. Several hours after the hearing at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Coventry Town Council, Council President Gary Cote announced a Special Meeting to be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Coventry Town Hall. In accordance to Section 3.13 of the Coventry Home Rule Charter, Cote called the …
41.701477
-71.591486
Town of Coventry - Town Hall
1670 Flat River Rd, Coventry, RI
/articles/council-president-calls-special-meeting-to-discuss-ccfd-loan
508332
/locations/9195839
Monday, April 1, 2013
Judge Stern has entrusted local officials and state legislators with the duty of mapping out a long-term fire and emergency service plan for Central Coventry residents.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Judge Stern has entrusted local officials and state legislators with the duty of mapping out a long-term fire and emergency service plan for Central Coventry residents.
Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern ruled during a hearing Friday that the Central Coventry Fire District must be liquidated. District Chief Andy Baynes and Special Master Richard Land had already shut down three of the district's five stations effective at 8 a.m. Friday in an attempt to cut costs. Land estimated that the district only has enough funds to operate in a limited capacity for about 11 days. Excluding this weekend, that is the amount of time Judge Stern gave Land and officials to completely liquidate the district that has been in a Special Mastership since October. CCFD taxpayers rejected a revised budget and a tax levy on Tuesday night by an overwhelming margin of 1,357 to 484 votes. Failure to pass the budget left Land …
Only two Central Coventry Fire District stations remain open Friday as a result of a rejected tax levy and looming liquidation.
12:40 p.m. update – After speaking with Tim Brown of the Kent County Water Authority, police chief Bryan Volpe and CCFD chief Andy Baynes have been advised that the water authority will not be shutting off fire hydrants in Central Coventry and have no immediate plans to. As of 8 a.m. Friday, three of the five Central Coventry Fire District fire stations have been ordered closed per order of Special Master Rick Land and Chief Andy Baynes. The move is one of the first steps in an impending liquidation process. The foundering fire district has been in a court-ordered special mastership for nearly six months. The doors of Station 1 located on Hill Farm Rd., Station 3 (Washington), Station St. and Station 5 (Harris), Main St. are now locked, …
Reasonable Taxpayer
10:26 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
I purchased a Fire extinguisher, First aid kit, changed my batteries in my smoke detector, and cleaned my dryer vent. Getting ready more ›