By Cindy Hoffman, Staff Writer

(June 29, 2023) The Berlin mayor and council got into a fiery debate with the Berlin Fire Company President David Fitzgerald during the council mayor meeting on Monday night.

 What was on the table was discussed in the last council meeting: the town says it does not have the funding the fire company is requesting to cover an entire year’s contract.

Fitzgerald countered that the company has cut its budget back severely, including not buying equipment the company needs.

“We are already over budget because our dryer blew up,” he said.

Fitzgerald suggested the town sign a contract for services with the company through Jan. 31 and the company will bill the town on a per diem based on the value of services rendered beyond that date.

“This gives us time to see if you can find the funds to provide fair compensation to the fire company,” he said.

“We could have candid money discussions, but the perception is you come over here and blow us a lot of smoke and expect us to deal with it. I don’t get a good feeling on where your spending is and what you need,” said Councilman Dean Burrell asked.

Joe Moore, the attorney for the fire department suggested the town pay for an audit of the fire department.

“We believe we have budgeted fairly for expenses,” Fitzgerald said. “We are asking you to reimburse us for the fair cost of providing those services.”

After an extensive debate, the council agreed to increase the contract for the fire company to $200,000 for operating expenses in the upcoming fiscal year.  Additional funding was provided by reallocating ARPA funding that was designated for capital expenses.

“The concern is if we don’t receive a grant we will have to go back to the town to ask them to reestablish capital funding,” Fitzgerald said.

This 12 month contract for fire and rescue services for the town still needs to be approved by the members of the fire company.