To the editor: How to merge Proctorsville and Cavendish fire departments
The Chester Telegraph | Dec 02, 2024 | Comments 2
I have also been involved in the unsuccessful attempt to merge the fire districts. The rules regarding fire district mergers are set out in Vermont Statutes. They can be found online here. Specific guidance regarding these mergers can be obtained through the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
Proctorsville Fire Station Google Maps screenshot
I am aware of at least four unsuccessful attempts at merging the districts in the last 40 years. A number of proposals have been on the table.
After both studying the statutes and the process involved, being on the receiving end of the fierce animosity of those opposed to the proposals that meet statutory muster as well as learning about the demographic and economic challenges of the rural fire service, I have a proposal of my own. I understand it will have the same naysayers and meet with the same hostility from a vocal minority.
I believe the current fire districts should be merged into a municipal fire district. Our neighboring town of Ludlow offers a model for this governance. Our town select board should be the overseer of one department in Cavendish with the town manager being the designated supervisor of the chief and any employees the town needs to cover both EMS and fire service.
We have two great fire station buildings in Cavendish. They are an asset to the community. They are both paid for. The equipment and apparatus in the Cavendish Fire Station are owned fully either by the taxpayers of Cavendish Fire District 2 or the CVFD corporation.
The engines and equipment are fully maintained and pass state inspections. I would like to see Cavendish Rescue and EMS remain in place at the Cavendish Fire Station with one engine/tanker always remaining at the Cavendish Station to meet ISO standards, for homeowners insurance for those of living out in the Knapp Pond side of Cavendish.
The Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Department’s fire station has a lot of calls to cover on the incredibly busy Route 103 corridor, including what appears to be a rapidly increasing number of mutual aid calls to both Ludlow and Chester.
PVFD has a capable, qualified, motivated and invested deputy chief. The select board should hire him. You will need to pay him the average salary of a Vermont fire chief, which is $112,255 and a full benefit package. It is a lot of money but it is way past time to pay the full value of what a good chief can offer. Running a rural fire department requires an enormous amount of work in building maintenance, fire engine upkeep, equipment maintenance, logistics, training, recruitment and retention of both paid staff and volunteers.
Cavendish and Proctorsville have two major state highways that see not only private passenger traffic but commercial truck traffic that carry hazardous materials at all hours of the day and night. We also have a rail line that carries dry goods and liquid hazardous materials. Even with both departments and mutual aid operating with depleted numbers, the town and region are not prepared for a mass casualty incident. But we need to be.
Cavendish Fire Station Google Maps screenshot
As for the decades-long “tit for tat” relationship between departments, this can go away with the professionalization of a municipal department. All current volunteer members of both departments should be welcomed into a new merged district with both stations under combined and unified fire command.
As for the town select board, no officer or member of either department should be allowed to serve on that board as this is a clear conflict of interest and will only continue to exacerbate the long, unsavory and sad relations between department members.
The stipulation needs to be written that the CVFD station not be closed. I have worked successfully for many months to obtain a large grant to bring this building into ADA compliance and make it energy efficient. The stipulation of this grant is for the non-fire and rescue portions of the building to be open, once again, to the public for meetings and events. I am also researching utilizing two rooms in the building as affordable rental housing for traveling nurses in our area. The housing shortage in our area is severe. This requires meeting bureaucratic code and strict safety requirements. It is a work in progress, but I believe it is obtainable.
If my memory serves, the last non-negotiable offer that was on the table from our neighboring department was that the CVFD members and the Cavendish Fire District 2 hand over the keys to the station and all of our equipment and walk away. The members would be allowed to apply to PVFD on a probationary status.
- First, the Cavendish Fire Station and all engines belong to the taxpayers of Cavendish Fire District 2. These taxpayers have a legal right to be involved in the process of any district merger.
- Second, the shortage of qualified volunteers in the fire and EMS service necessitates that no willing volunteer be alienated from the community they serve.
On a personal note, if the voters approve a merger and it actually happens I will retire from the fire service. I have attended many regional mutual aid fire schools since 2017. I have answered emergency calls late at night in the worst weather conditions. For my efforts I have been figuratively burned at the stake for trying to help the community I love by people who claim to be in the rural fire service because they care.
One can only tolerate so much of this and like so many others who have dedicated themselves to this good cause I will be sad to leave, but happy to be able to secure my physical and mental health.
Stu Lindberg
Cavendish
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
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The only statutory provision is via merger between two extant districts. In short two fire Districts can’t “just dissolve” but rather needs to merge.
Atty. Jarvis cited the VLCT Handbook for Vermont Selectboards, which lays out the steps of the process as follows:
a) The legislative bodies of each party to the merger must prepare a plan of merger, which must be approved by a majority of each body. 24 V.S.A. § 1482. A plan of merger includes, among other things, provisions relating to structure, organization, functions, operation, finance, and property of the fire district. (per 24 V.S.A. § 1483)
b.) The plan of merger must be approved by a majority vote by Australian ballot of each municipality concerned at a meeting duly warned for that purpose and held in each such municipality. 24 V.S.A. § 1485(a). Not fewer than 30 days prior to the meeting, copies of the plan of merger must be posted in three or more places in each of the areas involved.
In addition, two public hearings in each of the areas involved must be held, at intervals of two weeks, the last of which shall be held not less than five days before the meeting at which the vote will be held. Notice of the hearings must be advertised in accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 1484.
c.) Within ten days after the municipalities have voted to adopt a plan of merger, the clerk or equivalent officer of the municipality into which merger has taken place must notify the Secretary of State of the merger. 24 V.S.A. § 1486.
The financial records of each district would need to be audited and reconciled and presented to the taxpayers of Cavendish with a clear understanding of what the assets and liabilities of a new district would be. All Financial authority and responsiblity for transparency would belong to a newly elected fire commission or the selectboard made up of citizens that are not members or employees of either department. The Chiefs and their officers would be accountable to the fire commission regarding a strict professional standard of ethical conduct as well as performance standards.
I have not yet read the regulations concerning the steps involved in the merger of the two fire districts. There is no denying that this would be a difficult decision for all to make, but I do think that the time has come. I am not sure that I agree with all that is proposed here, but it can serve as a starting point for discussion. I think it will be to have an impartial chair to guide the discussions and who can deflate tensions as they arise. This may need to be someone who is not currently involved with the departments or someone from out of town. I don’t think the new fire department can be called either of the current names but perhaps we look at history of another merger that took place and the new fire department could be named Cavendish Town Fire Department, modeling the name after the school merger that took place. I commend the department for being willing to begin the discussions.