The polls will be open Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town Office Building on Main Street.
Monson Fire Chief George L. RobichaudMONSON – Fire Chief George L. Robichaud hopes that the town will support a Proposition 2½ override at the polls on Monday for $103,242 that will fund 90 emergency medical technician-firefighter hours.
The override will be on the annual election ballot, and would fund hours previously paid for by a federal grant. That grant has expired, and Robichaud said it will not be offered again.
“I’m hoping that history will repeat itself in the sense that the community-oriented people will come to the polls,” Robichaud said recently.
“Hopefully it will turn out OK. I’m really concerned about what we’re going to be able to do if it doesn’t pass,” Robichaud said. “You can eliminate the resource, but it doesn’t decrease the need.”
Robichaud explained that the $103,000 includes $43,000 for a full-time emergency medical technician-firefighter, $25,000 for six part-time EMT-firefighter positions, $18,000 in benefit costs and $17,000 for half the cost of bonding for a new ambulance.
The full-time position is 50 hours a week and represents a fourth EMT-firefighter on duty Monday through Friday. The part-time positions are scattered throughout the week.
If it passes, it would cost the owner of the average home valued at $220,000 an extra $34 a year. Robichaud noted that the debt payments on the Quarry Hill Community School project will end July 1, the start of fiscal 2012, eliminating the extra $77 in taxes that the owner of the average home has been paying. So if the firefighter override passes, they would see a reduction in their tax bills of $43, he said.
Robichaud said his department is busy, with approximately 1,000 emergency calls a year, and 400 fire-related calls. He said people have an expectation that if they call 911, the ambulance will respond quickly.
While the department has numerous call firefighters, he said many work out of town, or have family obligations that can delay response time. Having full-time EMT-firefighters on duty solves those problems, he said.
In fiscal 2009, two full-time emergency medical technician-firefighters were eliminated due to budget constraints, leaving three full-time positions. An override request to reinstate them failed. Then the grant came through that allowed funding for one full-time EMT-firefighter and part-time coverage on weekends.
During the six-month gap in service that occurred from the time of the budget cuts until the grant funding became available, the town had to call for mutual aid from other towns 26 times.
“I’m only asking to retain the position that I have,” Robichaud said. “If the position is lost it will be difficult to meet the expectations and the critical needs of the townspeople.”
The polls will be open Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town Office Building on Main Street.