CCFD Budget Meeting to Be Moderated By EG Town Councilor

East Greenwich Town Councilor Jeff Cianciolo has been selected to moderate a meeting of the insolvent Central Coventry Fire District Tuesday night in which voters will be asked if they approve the new budget and tax levy.

The CCFD has been in crisis since last fall, when it became clear it did not have enough money to continue operating. The current tax rate is $1.82 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The proposed tax rate is $2.99. A tax rate of $3.15 was rejected at a meeting on February.

Cianciolo served as Town Moderator for the town of East Greenwich . He was tapped to moderate the Coventry meeting by CCFD Special Master Richard Land, a move permitted by Superior Court Judge Brian Stern who has been overseeing the CCFD case.

"He has a meeting to run and I happened to be talking to him about it and that’s how it got started," Cianciolo said about Land and how he was chosen.

Coincidentally, Jeff Cianciolo is also the person behind the East Greenwich ballot question last November asking voters if the EG Fire District should be abolished and replaced with a town department. The referendum passed and there are bills now before the General Assembly to do just that.

Cianciolo said while he certainly encourages the residents of Coventry to examine whether or not they need separate fire districts, his job Tuesday night will be nothing more than moderating the meeting.

"What I’m doing tomorrow is very simple. I’m just running a meeting," he said.