Superior Court Judge Swears in CCFD Board of Directors

A Superior Court judge swore in the seven members elected to the Central Coventry Fire District Board of Directors on June 29 during a hearing in Providence on Tuesday morning.

Stern applied staggered term lengths to the seven-member board. He assigned the  top three vote getters - Robert G. Hadley, Marie A. Baker and Cynthia A. Fagan-Perry - to three-year terms. The next two highest vote-getters - Fred P. Gralinski and Helen G. Quinn - were committed to two-year terms and lowest vote-getters Daniel G. Lantz, Jr. and Maureen K. Jendzejec were awarded single-year terms.

"From a continuity point of view, all of you should not be up for election at the same time," said Justice Brian P. Stern to the CCFD board.

After Stern placed the CCFD under the control of a special master to oversee the district's mismanaged finances, taxpayers voted on Saturday, June 29 to elect seven new board members toward guide the fire district into financial stability.

As it stands, the CCFD only has enough funds to pay for operations for another two and a half weeks - about $350,000, said Special Master Richard Land. The district's revenue stream depends primarily on tax bills, the next tax bills are due on Aug. 15, or in about six weeks.

"If we run out of money, we will cease operations," said Land in an interview after the hearing. "We will not run on a deficit, but payments do flow in and people may pay early and bridge the gap - or we could borrow money from a lender, or we will shut down."

Land said the board would be tasked first with deciding how to deal with this funding shortfall. He noted that if the board chooses to cease operations due to a lack of funds, the region would be without firefighters.

In coming months the board will be grappling with other issues of past mismanagement, including dealing with missed payments to the state Municipal Employment Retirement System totaling up to $600,000.

"I cannot express how much the court appreciates you stepping forward and being tasked with the role you have ahead of you," said Stern during the swearing in ceremony. "You did not come to this board with a clean slate."

"This board has a herculean task ahead of them," Stern added.

The CCFD Board of Directors will conduct its first meeting under its new leadership tomorrow, Wednesday, July 3 at 3:30 p.m. in Town Council chambers at the Coventry Town Hall, located at 1670 Flat River Road.