Letter: Rep. Guthrie Discusses Fire District Taxation Bill

April 3, 2013

To The Editor:

reads a recent headline, following a directive by Superior Court Judge Brian P. Stern that local officials and state legislators map out a long-term fire and emergency service plan for Central Coventry residents.

Following last Friday’s court decision, the primary question left before residents of the fire district is: What now, now that the judge has indicated that the alarm bell has wrung, now that the judge has set a timetable for finding a solution that might avert liquidation of the fire district?

Residents of the district who voted against the budget that was put before them need to understand what their vote has accomplished. Because of that vote, the future of the fire district is very bleak for homeowner and business taxpayers within the district.

In a liquidation, all assets will be sold to pay the debts of the district, leaving the district with no equipment and no fire houses.

On January 29 – well before the February 11 vote against the budget -- I submitted legislation (H5176 - attached) to allow for a tiered tax rate, a legitimate tax structure based on what is done in other cities and towns. The bill also proposed that the district be allowed to levy supplemental taxes, which would have required a majority vote of the taxpayers. There was no mandate in that bill; a supplemental tax assessment would have gone before voters. Also included in the bill is a call for an audit of accounts, yearly, for every fire district in the state, as well as a requirement for fire districts to provide the Division of Municipal Finance all its business information as an added layer of oversight to prevent this kind of situation from ever happening again.

The most important section of the bill is that if a budget is not passed in any given year, the fire district reverts to the previous year’s budget, as many city, town, state or federal governments do.

My goal in submitting the bill was for the special master to present two budgets to the taxpayers – his proposed budget and another budget that, if my legislation were to be enacted, would allow the special master the authority to put the tiered tax into place to maintain the lowest possible tax rate for homeowners and businesses. That did not happen. The budget presented by the special master was the single rate he was required to levy under state law. That is the only budget district residents saw and, consequently, rejected.

Not one day has gone by that I have not pressed for passage of my bill, including this week when the bill was heard by the House Committee on Finance. Without legislation to protect this district and all others, we are open to lawsuits for illegal taxation. Without passage of my legislation, liquidation will become a reality and residents of the district will face the uncertainty of prompt fire and rescue service when it is needed.

A two-tier tax system as proposed in my bill will help keep taxes as low as possible for district residents. If a two-tier tax system is allowed to be put into place retroactively to last year, the current budget that was rejected by voters can be redrawn and a new budget, with a reasonable tax rate for homeowners and businesses, could be presented. I am confident that kind of two-tier tax rate budget would be approved by district voters, that the fire operations could continue without interruption, and that the debt – large as it is – could be paid down in a steady and reasonable fashion.

To those who say liquidating the fire district is not a bad thing, I must ask: Are you prepared to pay more than you need to without the assurance of prompt and efficient fire and rescue response because the fire trucks are coming from a greater distance to fight the fire in your home, or the chance that help will not be available when someone in your home encounters a medical emergency?

The judge has asked for a solution, or he will order liquidation. I believe passage of the legislation I have introduced is the solution and it will work right now. I urge everyone who cares about efficient fire and rescue service to support my bill. I urge every homeowner and business that wants to pay reasonable fire taxes to support my bill. I urge everyone to realize the liquidation is not the answer but rather the beginning of bigger problems for everyone living in the Central Coventry Fire District.

Sincerely,

Scott J. Guthrie

Representative – District 28

Coventry