Town wants more transparency in city fire budget
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.
City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano says the financials have been disclosed on a number of occasions.
In 2006, the city got back $483,656 in ambulance recovery fees, according to cost analysis conducted in January 2007. Total ambulance costs that year were listed at $470,965. Ambulance trips to the town represented 18.3 percent of the 1,654 total calls.
According to 2008 city budget estimates, it expects to see $560,000 in ambulance recovery fees this year.
Maiurano argued that the town already gets a good deal on fire protection.
“You’re going to see right now the amount they pay is less than what they’d pay if it were based on population and property value,” said Maiurano, explaining that for the amount of people, structures – like Wal-Mart and Lowe’s – and square miles protected, the town does not pay an equivalent share of the costs.
In light of the claims, it would be worth reviewing the process the city currently follows for charging the town, states a study conducted by the Center for Governmental Research (CGR).
“The interviews suggest that the process for setting rates is not transparent. Given the significant increases in the cost of fire protection services and the large percentage of total expenses it represents, the process warrants review,” the study states. “If cost is the issue, this review should address the town’s concerns.”
In November, the town had requested that a study be conducted examining the feasibility of Greater Norwich Fire District, where a board of commissioners would set tax rates for town and city residents equally. The town also passed a resolution stating that it will only consider other shared services possibilities with the city once a fire district study is completed.
CGR concluded that the creation of a fire district would be unnecessary, since there is an inter-municipal committee already in place that should be able handle tax rate disputes at an ad hoc level.
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.
City of Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano says the financials have been disclosed on a number of occasions.
In 2006, the city got back $483,656 in ambulance recovery fees, according to cost analysis conducted in January 2007. Total ambulance costs that year were listed at $470,965. Ambulance trips to the town represented 18.3 percent of the 1,654 total calls.
According to 2008 city budget estimates, it expects to see $560,000 in ambulance recovery fees this year.
Maiurano argued that the town already gets a good deal on fire protection.
“You’re going to see right now the amount they pay is less than what they’d pay if it were based on population and property value,” said Maiurano, explaining that for the amount of people, structures – like Wal-Mart and Lowe’s – and square miles protected, the town does not pay an equivalent share of the costs.
In light of the claims, it would be worth reviewing the process the city currently follows for charging the town, states a study conducted by the Center for Governmental Research (CGR).
“The interviews suggest that the process for setting rates is not transparent. Given the significant increases in the cost of fire protection services and the large percentage of total expenses it represents, the process warrants review,” the study states. “If cost is the issue, this review should address the town’s concerns.”
In November, the town had requested that a study be conducted examining the feasibility of Greater Norwich Fire District, where a board of commissioners would set tax rates for town and city residents equally. The town also passed a resolution stating that it will only consider other shared services possibilities with the city once a fire district study is completed.
CGR concluded that the creation of a fire district would be unnecessary, since there is an inter-municipal committee already in place that should be able handle tax rate disputes at an ad hoc level.
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