Fire protection is the largest expense for both the city and town of Norwich, according to budget figures provided in a state shared services and consolidation study.

It’s also been a hot-button issue of late between the two municipalities during shared services and consolidation talks.

Officials for the Town of Norwich, which contracts for fire protection from the city, are concerned town taxpayers are being overcharged and think the price tag for the service could be lower.

Specifically, the town says it has never been provided a detailed breakdown of fire department revenues, only total costs, despite claims from city officials that such information has been disclosed.

“We have an excellent fire servic ... I don’t want anyone to think we’re complaining” about the quality, said town councilman Adam Evans. “The equity is what we’re looking at.”

Evans said the town board would like to see the total revenue brought in from ambulance fees – especially those collected from residents in the town who used the service – reflected against the total fire department costs.

“Maybe the price (for the town) could be better,” he said, if it had the leverage to see how much revenues actually offset the $2.57 million in fire department costs.