Athol Fire Department staffing on Town Meeting agenda

By GREG VINE

For the Athol Daily News

Published: 06-09-2023 4:11 PM

ATHOL – An article to allocate nearly $900,000 to hire several firefighters is expected to generate the most discussion at Town Meeting.

Athol’s Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, June 12, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall at Town Hall, 584 Main St. Voters will be asked to decide on a 36-article warrant.

Article 8 asks residents to decide on a $895,000 Proposition 2½ override for the purpose of hiring eight new firefighters. If the article passes, a Special Election will be held later this year seeking voter approval to fund the new positions.

Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera spoke to the Athol Daily News on Friday, noting, “The Town Meeting (article) is just to allow the townspeople to vote on whether or not we can increase our staff by eight people. They’re not really voting on the eight people, they’re voting on allowing us to have a Special Election. That’s the first thing.”

Guarnera then explained that town officials have been aware of the department’s staff shortage for some time.

“The shortage in staff was known over 10 years ago, and documented back then, when we were doing 50 percent less calls than what we’re doing now,” he said. “In the scheme of things, the state averages the towns that do as many calls as we do, have as many as 13 (firefighters) and usually no fewer than eight people on staff per shift responding to calls. We’re doing it with four. It’s getting very hard to keep up with the call volume, and that’s why we need the extra staff.”

The chief said many calls fail to be answered in an appropriate time-frame. Guarnera added that it’s no fault of the department, it’s the lack of staffing needed. Even with mutual aid agreements, he said, people in need can sometimes wait as long as 20 minutes for an ambulance response. Guarnera said the shortage impacts both fire and medical incidents, but mostly medical, as this represents a majority of calls.

Still, responses to fires have been affected by the staffing issues. The chief said that two weeks ago, there was a fire and no one from Athol could respond. Instead, engines from Orange were dispatched to the scene.

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“Sometimes we go to working fires with two people, and that’s not good for the townspeople.”

Town budget vote

Voters will also be asked to decide on a proposed FY24 town operating budget of $23.6 million. That figure represents an increase in spending of approximately $812,000 over the current fiscal year. The FY24 budget includes an assessment of just over $4.9 million for the town’s share of the Athol Royalston Regional School District budget, around $3,100 less than last year.

Spending for Monty Tech will be up by approximately 2.3 percent this year. The FY24 amount is $382,3000, while in FY23, spending for the vocational technical school totaled $373,827.

The biggest chunk of municipal spending is $18.1 million for the Dept. of Public Works, compared to FY23’s $17.3 million. Police Department spending will increase just over 7.6 percent, from $2.4 to $2.6 million. The proposed budget for the Fire Department—not counting the staffing article—will increase from $2.4 million to $2.6 million, an increase of 5.5 percent.

Article 30 asks voters to approve a $20,000 match for the town to participate in the state’s Vacant Storefront Program. The state will provide up to $20,000 in tax credits to business who commit to filling and improving vacant storefronts in downtown Athol, but only if the town comes up with the match. On May 2, the Selectboard voted to support this. Board Chair Andy Sujdak, Vice Chair Kala Fisher and member Rebecca Bialecki voted in favor, while members Brian Dodge and Stephen Raymond voted against.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

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