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Council approves new fee splits with Friends of the Bloomfield Fire Department
Summary
Councilors approved a proposal to formalize fees and revenue sharing for the Friends of the Bloomfield Fire Department: a $25 flat pool-fill fee, first $100 from controlled-burn events to the city with excess to the Friends, and room rental proceeds to go to the city; Friends to provide documentation for donated funds.
The Bloomfield City Council accepted a final proposal to standardize fees and the division of proceeds with the Friends of the Bloomfield Fire Department, a measure staff said will simplify administration and improve auditing. Staff member (speaker 3) explained that because the building is city-owned "all of the funds of the room or the building itself when people have ... meetings will go to the city," while smaller fundraising proceeds collected by the Friends would be documented and transferred to the city as donations for auditing clarity.
Under the approved plan, controlled-burn fees will allocate the first $100 per event to the city to cover fuel or water costs and any excess will go to the Friends' account; pool fills will move to a flat $25 fee with the Friends collecting additional voluntary contributions as fundraisers. Staff said Friends will provide receipts and checks so the city retains clear financial records. Councilors discussed how scheduling and monitoring would be handled—staff said the fire department will manage bookings and deliver the proceeds to city finance staff.
Council members raised implementation questions about whether other city-owned facilities, such as the library, charge similar fees; staff said they would follow up with the library board to ensure consistency across city properties. After discussion, a motion to accept the proposal passed with councilors indicating support during roll call.
The change is meant to improve checks and balances and to make fundraising by the Friends more auditable while ensuring the city receives core building rental revenue.
