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Select board reviews fire budget reductions, replacement schedules and volunteer recruitment
Summary
The fire budget for the coming year shows a small net decrease driven by lower per-diem wages; members pressed on replacement schedules for apparatus, turnout gear and pager costs and raised concerns about volunteer recruitment and metrics for performance measurement.
The meeting shifted from EMS to the fire department budget, which staff presented as roughly 4% lower than the prior year. The reduction stems mainly from fewer per-diem hours budgeted for volunteer firefighters, the chair said. Committee members asked whether those wage reductions could compromise readiness; staff replied the change reflected a real decline in average hours worked and an effort to align budgeted wages to actual usage.
Why it matters: Fire and EMS together are among the town's largest public-safety expenditures. Small changes in per-diem staffing, turnout gear or apparatus replacement timing can produce larger service or long-term capital impacts.
Members questioned specific line items. One committee member noted health-insurance costs on a single line that appeared to cover one employee at about $40,790 and asked whether that was accurate; staff confirmed the figure and explained that coverage varies by the level of benefits chosen. The committee also drilled into replacement schedules for fire apparatus and smaller equipment: staff presented a roughly 30-year apparatus replacement approach (one apparatus replacement about every seven years) and showed capital-reserve funding targets to avoid spikes. Replacement of turnout gear (jackets/pants) and pagers are immediate operating pressures: individual bunker gear runs into the thousands and pagers/portables now cost hundreds to nearly $800 each and have lead times.
Recruitment and metrics: Members pressed for more recruitment funding and clearer performance metrics. Fire leadership outlined outreach efforts (high school recruiting, social media) and argued retention is strong but aging volunteers and overnight response remain challenges. Staff acknowledged difficulty measuring volunteer performance and said full-time EMS metrics (response times, hours on calls) can be tracked but volunteer measures are harder because volunteers respond from varying locations.
What comes next: Committee members asked staff to provide clearer, updated performance measures and to confirm the apparatus replacement schedule and reserve projections ahead of the budget committee's recommendation meeting.
