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Buckfield holds public hearing on proposed Fire Department billing ordinance; voters to decide at town meeting
Summary
Select Board held a public hearing on a proposed “Fire Department Building and Restitution Ordinance” (draft warrant article 24) that would let the town recover costs when Buckfield firefighters respond to outside incidents; no board action was taken and the measure will go to voters at the annual town meeting.
The Town of Buckfield opened a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would allow the town to bill for certain fire department services when those services are provided to non-residents or outside the town’s regular resident protection duties.
The draft, described by staff during the hearing as the “Town of Buckfield Fire Department Building and Restitution Ordinance” and listed as draft warrant article 24, would permit billing for a short list of services including vehicle extrication/disentanglement, mitigation of fluids or other hazardous substances at vehicle accidents, vehicle fires and other hazard‑mitigation operations. The draft would allow billing for mutual aid calls only when Buckfield is the only service provider on scene.
Town staff told the board that residents would not be billed under the ordinance; instead the town would seek restitution from responsible parties or their insurers when incidents tie up town resources. Billing would be handled by an outside firm, staff said, and the draft rates for the targeted services are lower than some neighboring towns’ fees.
No formal action was taken at the public hearing. Select Board members and staff repeatedly noted that adopting the ordinance is a voters’ decision: the draft will appear as a warrant article at the annual town meeting, and the final language on the warrant must match the ordinance title exactly. The public hearing record will close and the Select Board expects to finalize any drafting questions with the town attorney before placing the article on the warrant.
Staff cited a recent local response — a multi‑hour vehicle recovery that tied up department resources over a weekend — as the kind of incident the ordinance is intended to address. If voters approve the ordinance at town meeting, the town would be able to seek compensation for those outside calls under the terms approved by the voters.
The Select Board closed the public hearing and planned additional review of the draft warrant language at its next scheduled meeting so questions for the town attorney can be resolved before the warrant is finalized.
