Citing a bad economy, the Board of Finance has rejected proposals to pay volunteer fire chiefs stipends and beef up the staff at the Fire Marshal’s office.
The Finance Board voted against the measures — which included a new part-time inspector in the Fire Marshal’s office and stipends for top fire officials — during a budget workshop last week.
The Board of Selectmen had approved the items at a meeting earlier this month.
“We’ll try again next year,” Fire Marshal Paul Wetowitz said in his office Monday morning.
The fire department and Fire Marshal had requested the following:
- A new part-time inspector for the Fire Marshal’s office, at $16 per hour, for eight hours each week.
- A $2,000 annual stipend for the director of emergency management, Thomas Eighmie.
- $1,000 annual stipend for each of three assistant fire chiefs
- $2,000 annual stipend for one fire department chief
If the Finance Board had approved the measures, it would have been the first time the town paid volunteer fire chiefs for their work.
Finance Board members cited a bad economy when voting against the proposals.
“I would love to give every volunteer in the town a stipend,” said Board of Finance member Kristen Harmeling. “But it’s not realistic. And I’m just afraid it sets a precedent and it creates a snowball effect.”
“I don’t think this is the time,” said Board of Finance member William Paecht. “I really don’t.”
Eighmie, the town’s director of emergency management, said he understood the decision.
“It’s a sign of the times,” Eighmie said.
Eighmie said he was happy he at least got an added travel expense line item in the budget of up to $1,000.
In the meantime, Eighmie said he will continue doing what he needs to do to get the job done.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher,” he said. “It is what it is.”
Reasoning
Fire chiefs have never had stipends in Seymour. The work load is intense, particularly with all the paperwork and mandates, Gene Atkas, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, told the Board of Selectmen at a recent meeting.
Other towns have been offering stipends for years, Atkas said.
“We are 10 years behind everyone else. The amount of work they put in is a lot and they get nothing. Other towns, they get as much as $20,000,” Atkas said.
Town firefighters don’t receive payment, but are currently eligible for up to a $1,000 local tax credit, if they meet criteria including being a town resident.
