By: Maria Moore
We received a copy of the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for this evening’s meeting after Town Hall closed yesterday, Monday, January 24. The following article is based on conversations with the First Selectman’s Office after the selectmen’s last meeting on Tuesday, December 14 when a presentation on a tax abatement for emergency personnel was to have been made by Chief Shaw. The tax abatement request was to have been discussed under the Operations Update item of the December meeting. The presentation did not take place since the fire chief was not at the meeting.
Chief John Shaw is scheduled to make a presentation to the town’s Board of Selectmen at this evening’s meeting when he will be asking for the town to approve a tax abatement for firefighters at the South End Volunteer Fire Department where he is chief, for firefighters at the New Hartford Volunteer Fire Department, and for those at the Pine Meadow Fire Department. It is unclear at this time whether the town’s other emergency volunteers at the New Hartford Volunteer Ambulance Association are included in the request. According to Dan Jerram, the town’s First Selectman, the heads of the emergency services presented the idea of the tax abatements during a meeting he attended with them before the December Board of Selectmen meeting. At that meeting the heads of the emergency services agreed that Chief Shaw would be the one to present the request to the Board of Selectmen. Chief Shaw will present a request for abatement of taxes due to the town based on a volunteer’s length of service.
Our reporter questioned the First Selectman on the request for the tax abatement and he said that the abatement is to recognize the efforts of the emergency services volunteers on behalf of the townspeople. Our reporter asked if the conversation on the tax abatements would also include opening a conversation with the town’s three fire departments on combining their operations to streamline the delivery of services and to realize savings by combining their resources. Dan said that the fire departments already cooperate with each other by providing mutual aid but that they have traditionally been separate operations and it would be difficult to combine them. Dan added that granting the tax abatements would make good on a promise made by former First Selectman Earl MacInnes to Chief Shaw that the abatements would be granted during the previous First Selectman’s administration.
If the presentation for the tax abatements receives a favorable reception from the Board of Selectmen, the item will be added to the agenda of the upcoming Town Meeting whose date will be set by the selectmen at this evening’s meeting.
The Board of Selectmen will meet this evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Sessions Conference Room at the Town Hall. Beginning this month, the Board of Selectmen will hold one regular meeting per month, on the fourth Tuesday of the month.
Definition of tax abatement: A reduction of taxes or an exemption from taxes granted by a local government on a piece of real property for a specified length of time.
Basic Information About New Hartford’s Fire Districts
Population in New Hartford: 6,800-6,900 (estimate)
Number of Fire Districts: 3 as follows:
- New Hartford Village Fire District (District 1)
- Pine Meadow Fire District (District 3)
- South End Fire District (District 4 – includes Bakerville and Nepaug).
Fire Tax Rates:
- New Hartford Village: 1.1 mills on the dollar;
- Pine Meadow: 1.5 mills on the dollar;
- South End: 0.6 mills on the dollar.
Other sources of income:
- New Hartford: fundraising; other sources not known;
- Pine Meadow: fundraising; other sources not known;
- South End: $4,000 per month from cell phone tower (to be confirmed); fundraising.
Benefits provided to volunteers:
- New Hartford: none known
- Pine Meadow: none known
- South End: volunteers receive pay per call; small retirement pension.
