Council Grants Smithfield FD Request for Two New Positions

Following Tuesday night's town council vote to approve $78,000 from the town and $25,000 from the fire department to fund two new EMT positions, Smithfield Fire Chief Robert Seltzer said he was pleased at the decision.

"That gives us what I was aiming for — I was trying to get two started this year, and that gives me money for 3/4 of the year because by the time we get them trained, three months will go by," Seltzer explained in a phone interview. "We had started off requesting four, and we ended up with two, but that's fine — we have an issue we need to address with the out-of-town rescues coming in and the very long times of waiting for them to arrive at scenes."

Seltzer had previously explained that residents had to wait up to 15 minutes for rescue personnel, and that rescue crews from outside Smithfield had responded to local emergencies more than 90 times between Jan. 1 and May 1.

The council's $63.25 million spending plan — which includes about $33 million for schools — now goes to the Town Financial Meeting for approval by voters, scheduled for June 13 at 7 p.m. at Smithfield High School.

An enterprise fund for the water supply, the sewer system, and the ice rink — which pay for their operations by collecting fees from users — stands at just over $7 million.