Central Coventry Fire Fighters Union Agrees to Further Concessions

The Central Coventry Fire District announced today that they have negotiated further concessions with the court-appointed Special Master in an effort to preserve vital public safety services for Coventry residents.

Taxpayers of the district will have an opportunity to ratify these concessions at a budget meeting scheduled for March 26 at Coventry High School. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and residents will have the opportunity to vote from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.

“When the budget crisis began, our members demonstrated their continued commitment to Coventry by working without pay for a period of four weeks,” said Dave Gorman, president of Coventry Professional Fire Fighters Local 3372. “Since that time we have now successfully negotiated two rounds of concessions that the voters will have an opportunity to approve on March 26. There is no alternative to not approving this plan, other than the district shutting down and no longer providing essential emergency services to residents.”

If taxpayers do not approve the district’s revised budget, the immediate impact to residents would include the closing of the five Central Coventry Fire District stations within a matter of days and the district’s assets liquidated, as authorized by the court. If the Central Coventry Fire District were to close, residents would encounter longer response times in emergencies and a reduced level of services.

The court has also stated that liquidation would not relieve the district from its obligations to pay off any creditors and that any money owed to the vendors, creditors and employees would have to be paid back through the sale of the district’s assets. After the sale of the assets, an additional tax to the residents could be levied by the court to make whole on any debts.

“It is important to note that two other districts have already stated that they do not have the resources to cover the residents of the Central Coventry Fire District, while one has stated it does have a plan in place, but the court deemed it unrealistic,” Gorman said. “I would urge residents to understand this reality and that we have come to the table to make concessions that will work for all concerned parties.”

Recent concessions include:

• An additional $252,000 in contract reductions in this revised budget, a total compensation reduction this year of over $400,000 - the latest in four years of contract concessions.

• Residents will pay a new proposed tax rate of $2.99 per $1,000 of assessed value. For an average household with a house worth $157,000, they will pay an additional $120 in taxes for the year, which is about $2.30 per week.

• The new rate proposed is less than the tax rate of $3.15 per $1,000 of assessed value proposed back in February.

• A vote will sustain the district for the rest of this fiscal year and pay for necessary expenses, such as street lighting and renting fire hydrants from the Kent County Water Authority.

“We are asking residents to remember that firefighters worked for four weeks – responding to emergencies, providing services, and coming to work - without a paycheck or any guarantee that they would get one,” Gorman added. “Our members continue to come to work every day in spite of the fiscal uncertainty surrounding this matter. We have regularly deferred payment for work when working an extra shift outside of regular schedules and made additional sacrifices. We also ask the taxpayers in the Central Coventry Fire District to consider that they have not experienced an increase in fire district taxes for nearly three years.

“Our members have responded to this budget crisis in a responsible manner,” Gorman said. “Like the residents of the Central Coventry Fire District, we were just as surprised when the district's fiscal mismanagement came to light. And since then, we’ve been forthcoming with the Special Master and been willing to grant numerous concessions. We’re hopeful voters will recognize our efforts and will come to the budget meeting on March 26 to preserve the fire district.”

Click here for more information on the March 26 special budget meeting.