Palin: Put Town-Wide Fire Department Question on Nov. Ballot

COVENTRY, RI—Frank Palin, the former chairman of the Coventry Fire District Board of Directors, is rallying community support around putting a question to create a town-wide municipal fire department on the November ballot.

Palin, in a late Sunday night press release, said that he contacted members of the Coventry Town Council last week asking them put an item on a future agenda to discuss putting a nonbinding referendum on the November ballot.

He said his request has been rebuffed by the Town Council President "in spite of the grave danger of the current fire district system imploding at any time in the future," Palin said. "The two districts that have been in the news during the past year cannot absorb any type of major financial problem without a devastating result."

Palin said he will give public comment at the next Town Council meeting to convey his concerns and to "inform the Council that he is forming a group, to recruit pro-municipal fire department candidates for the Town Council in the November election."

Palin isn't the first person to suggest the town move to a single fire department. Coventry firefighters have been calling for a town-wide municipal fire department for some time. Union President Dave Gorman has repeatedly said that the town's current system of four fire districts each with its own fire board and taxing authority is outdated and prone to inefficiency.

Palin, a member of the fire board, is not speaking on behalf of the entire board of directors, noted Andrew B. Perra, board chairman.

"If Mr Palin is to address the Coventry Town Council he is doing this on his own behalf and does not reflect the feelings of the Coventry Fire District," Perra said in an e-mail.

Note: an earlier version of the story incorrectly identified Palin as the chairman of the Coventry Fire District Board of Directors. He is no longer the chairman as of December.

Both the Coventry Fire District and Central Coventry Fire Districts have been through near-catastrophic financial meltdowns in recent years. Both are still a ways from achieving assuredly firm financial footing.

Palin said that an email address for the municipal fire department recruiting group has been created, firethecouncil@gmail.com. If three candidates take three open seats, he said, they'd "effectively take control of the council."

"This success would prove Mr. Palin's premise that the citizens of Coventry want a Municipal Fire Department," the press release stated.

After a long period of crisis and tumult, the Coventry Fire District has only recently begun to get its footing. The board and the fire union agreed to a new union contract in November.

For an overview of some of the issues facing the district over the past year, see some of our earlier coverage:

Disgraced Former Coventry Fire District Chief Indicted for Pension Fraud

Judge Warns of Impending Public Safety Crisis in Coventry

Dept. of Revenue Tells Town it Must Engage With Coventry...

Coventry Fire District Out of Cash, Chairman Says

Coventry Fire District Crisis Returns to Court after Weekend of Labor Struggle

Coventry Fire District Faces Big Tax Hike or Liquidation

Coventry Voters Reject Tax, Choose to Dissolve Fire District

Fiscal Picture Looks Bleak for Coventry Fire District

Deal Reached, Assets Unfrozen, Coventry Fire District to...

Report: Central Coventry Fire District Service is at Lowest...

This story was updated several times since it was first posted on April 10.