Dorchester passes 09 budget, large cut to fire dept.

The residents of Dorchester will be paying a slightly higher property tax rate this year; 1.4845 per 100 dollars of property value, compared to the 2008 rate of 1.4831. But with that 0.0014 minimum increase comes a drastic $10,000 decrease in funding for the volunteer fire department.
At a special meeting held in early January, Dorchester village council passed a motion to accept its operating budget for 2009. Village clerk-treasurer Simonne Malenfant-Edgett said Tuesday the budget reflects an overall increase in the cost of services and to maintain a lower tax rate cuts had to be made to many aspects of the budget.
"There were cuts (made) all over the place, unfortunately. But with regards to the fire department, we still budget $10,000 every year in our fiscal spending portion, which will go towards the purchase of a new fire truck within the next few years," she explained.
Fire chief Greg Partridge said in a telephone interview on Tuesday that he's very upset with 2009 budget.
"I'm extremely disappointed in the $10,000 decrease in the fire department's budget. I was actually hoping for an increase this year because there is a lot of the basic equipment that the department really needs. We need bunker gear desperately," he said.
Partridge noted that some of the equipment currently in use by his department is very old and in need of replacement in the near future. He said the public cannot expect volunteer firefighters to fight fires using derelict equipment which may or may not provide the proper protection.
"I can't send a firefighter into a burning building wearing bunker gear that's no better than a raincoat. Because it's old we've had to send some of our equipment away for inspection and at least one set was completely rejected and so can't be used again. This is what we're dealing with," he said in frustration.
Partridge said he may be forced to purchase new equipment, regardless of his budget limitations, adding that although he does want to maintain good relations with the current mayor and council, he believes his responsibilities lie with the fire department. He said he is also not pleased that he wasn't included in the budget planning meetings.
"I'm upset and disappointed that they didn't include me in the planning meetings for the budget; oh well, they did call me three hours before the last meeting but by then I had another meeting that I had to attend so I couldn't make it to the budget meeting," he said.
Partridge noted that fire protection services are essential to all village residents and he believes that many would support a slight rise in the tax rate to ensure the fire department has the necessary equipment to successfully fight fires.
Despite the cuts, Dorchester's operational budget was set at $817,464 an increase of more than $43,000 over that of 2008. The provincial government set the tax base value at $37,085,700, almost $2 million higher than that of last year. The warrant (revenue raised through property taxes) was calculated at $550, 545, about $20,000 more than in 2007.
Although operational costs continue to rise, the unconditional grant received from the provincial government remained the same at $89,824.
Dorchester's new water system continues to work well with only minor costs for maintenance and repairs, Malenfant-Edgett said. Costs for upcoming repairs to village sidewalks and upgrading of St. Ed's Hall were reflected in the 2009 budget, she noted.
The water and sewerage budget for 2009 was increased only marginally, from $173,060 in 2008 to $177,252 in 2009.
"A surplus from last year helped to keep increases to a minimum with regards to the water and sewerage budget," she noted.
The cost for water and sewerage services for village residents remains the same as that of last year, $516 and $350 for residents of Guard Row, which is serviced by the CSC sewage system, not the village system; hence the reduction in cost for those households.