Capeless To Return For Cut Funding

Sooner or later, the town meeting will probably be forced to return some of the budget dollars it trimmed from the fire department’s budget request last Wednesday. “Unless a miracle happens,” Acting Chief Robert T. Capeless explained, “I’ll be coming back” later in the year to ask for funds to cover expenses. And when the acting chief comes back, it will be with an offer that town meeting members cannot refuse. Capeless said he doubts the tentative budget for next year is sufficient to meet the firefighters’ contract provisions. If that happens, he said the firefighters could obtain a court order forcing the town meeting to pay.

Last Wednesday, town meeting members voted 85 to 63 to kill a finance commission-approved request for eight new firefighters. Capeless and the finance committee told members that adding more men was the only way to cut the high overtime costs of substituting for sick and injured men. Under a verbal agreement with the selectmen, the department maintains a 13-man shift. A man is called in to substitute if it falls below that. Although the agreement is verbal, Capeless said as an established “past practice” it is implied in the firefighters’ contract. The selectmen, however, could change the policy if they so desired, Capeless said. There are no state minimum manpower requirements for a shift, Capeless said. However, minimum shift size is one of several factors insurance companies use to determine insurance ratings, he said.

The acting chief said he does not plan to ask town meeting members to reconsider Wednesday night’s vote, although he “would appreciate it if they did.” The proposal was adequately explained to them when it was presented, he said. It is up to the members to reconsider. Capeless noted his budget request contained items which would not necessarily be spent. There is a possibility that only half the $70,000 line item to cover sick and retired firefighters would be spent, he said. Any leftover funds from a line would be returned to the general fund, he added. He also pointed out adding new men would save money in overtime costs. The budget request was higher this year because the town would have to pay the new men to attend the fire academy for three months.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger