CCFD Board Members Thank Voters, Resign Taskforce Roles

Fred Gralinski, Marie Baker, Cindy Fagan-Perry, Helen Quinn, Robert Hadley and Daniel Lantz - all endorsed and successful candidates of the Taskforce in the June 29 election for a new CCFD board - this week thanked Central Coventry residents for their vote of support, and pledged to do "everything possible to restore a sense of sanity" at the Central Coventry Fire District.

The six successful candidates said they will remain active with the Taskforce, but resigned their leadership posts, as Rhode Island's Open Meetings Act would preclude more than three of them from attending any meeting together. 

Fred Gralinski also resigned as co-chair of the Group, and turned its leadership over entirely to the remaining co-chair, Sean Carey.

Superior Court Judge Brian Stern swore in the seven members elected to the new Board of Directors during a hearing in Providence on July 2.

Stern applied staggered term lengths to the seven-member board. He assigned the top three vote getters - Robert G. Hadley, Marie A. Baker and Cynthia A. Fagan-Perry - to three-year terms. The next two highest 
vote-getters - Fred P. Gralinski and Helen G. Quinn - were committed to two-year terms and lowest vote-getters Daniel G. Lantz, Jr. and Maureen K. Jendzejec were awarded single-year terms.

According to Coventry Patch: "As it stands, the CCFD only has enough funds to pay for operations for another two and a half weeks - about $350,000," said Special Master Richard Land. The district's revenue stream depends primarily on tax bills, the next tax bills are due on Aug. 15.

"If we run out of money, we will cease operations," said Land in an interview following the hearing. "We will not run on a deficit, but  payments do flow in and people may pay early and bridge the gap - or we could  borrow money from a lender, or we will shut down."

Land said the board would be tasked first with deciding how to deal with this funding shortfall. He noted that if the board chooses to cease operations due to a lack of funds, the  region would be without firefighters.

In coming months the board will be grappling with other issues of past  mismanagement, including dealing with missed payments to the state Municipal Employment Retirement System totaling up to $600,000.

"I cannot express how much the court appreciates you stepping forward and being tasked with the role you have ahead of you," said Stern during the swearing in ceremony. "You did not come to this board with a clean slate."

"This board has a herculean task ahead of them," he added.

The CCFD Board of Directors will conduct its second meeting under its new leadership on Friday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the CCFD Tax Collector's Office within the Town Hall Annex located at 1675 Flat River Road.