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Coventry council sends conceptual municipal fire department question to voters after public safety debate
Summary
After weeks of study and hours of public comment, Coventry's Town Council voted 5–0 to send a conceptual question on forming a municipal fire department to the November ballot, while pledging a detailed public-education campaign and further legal drafting of the ballot language.
Coventry Town Council voted to advance a conceptual ballot question asking voters whether to merge the town’s independent fire districts into a single municipal fire department, sending the draft language to solicitors for refinement and committing to a public education effort before the November vote.
The decision followed more than an hour of public testimony in which firefighters, union leaders, district officials and residents traded sharply different views about safety, costs and coverage. Supporters including union and some district representatives argued a municipal department would improve accountability and response times; opponents and multiple speakers cautioned that the proposal, as drafted, lacked enough fiscal detail, facility inspections and clarity about benefit transfer for districts that use MERS or per-diem staffing.
Vice President Brown moved the council’s motion to place the conceptual question on the ballot; a second was recorded and the motion passed in a roll call vote (5–0). Council members said the vote was for concept only — not for the final ballot language or implementation plan — and that the manager and solicitor will prepare more precise financial projections, a five‑year fiscal scenario, and FAQ materials for a townwide education campaign.
Several residents from different parts of town told the council they were concerned about Western Coventry coverage, cross‑manning and the risk that staffing transfers could reduce frontline availability in the town’s west end. The council and town staff agreed those concerns would be addressed in the education materials: estimates for changes in district budgets, what existing debt would carry forward, whether and how MERS‑enrolled personnel would be treated, and options for maintaining apparatus and stations in less densely populated areas.
Town officials stressed that if voters approve the question in November, the council would still have to adopt enabling ordinances, negotiate contracts and finalize the budget impacts before any formal consolidation. If voters reject the question, the current multi‑district system would remain in place.
Next steps set by the council include: finalizing ballot wording with the solicitor, publishing clear district‑by‑district budget comparisons and five‑year projections, holding informational sessions for residents in each fire district, and returning to council with a public‑facing summary of costs and operational changes. The council said it would share those materials well ahead of the election to enable informed voter consideration.
