Washington elections set for Feb. 15.
Story published in Messenger Press, Thursday January 30, 2003 http://www.messengerpress.com
Area
municipalities will be holding fire district elections on Feb. 15. Voters will
be asked to approve district budgets for 2003 and elect individuals to open
seats on fire commissions in those townships. The following is information
pertaining to the upcoming elections in Millstone, Plumsted and Washington
townships.
WASHINGTON TWP----Voters
will also decide Feb. 15 which candidates will fill two open seats on the
township's Fire Commission and whether to approve a proposed fire budget that
calls for a 3-cent rate increase in fire taxes.
The 2003 fire budget, which would require residents to pay 26 cents for every
$100 of assessed property value, is a 3-cent increase from the 23 cents per $100
of assessed value that was billed last year.
Debbie Matson, fire commissioner, said the proposed budget is set at
$2,212,959 for this year. Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Brink said the 2002 budget was
$1,865,334 — an increase of $347,625.
In Washington, the average cost of a home is about $175,000, township tax
assessor Greg Busa said. This means the average homeowner will pay $455 in fire
taxes this year, a $53 increase from last year's bill.
Ms. Matson attributed the raise to "cost of living and operation expenses."
"We're always looking to update our equipment and purchase new equipment that
we feel is necessary," Ms. Matson said.
One example of equipment the department is interested in, Deputy Chief Brink
said, is a boat for water rescue now that Town Center will include a lake.
Decisions such as equipment purchasing as well as personnel issues are what
the five-member Board of Fire Commissioners handles.
The candidates for the two seats include current Commissioner Nate Bouchelle,
James D'Errico, Joe Valyo, Rob Hutchinson Jr., and Elwood Fell.
Mr. Bouchelle, 69, a 52-year resident of the township, said he's been a fire
commissioner for 15 years in Washington Township.
"What I've done for about 25 years now — I've taken care of all of the
apparatus," he said.
He said in the decades he's spent with the Washington Township Fire
Department, both as a firefighter and a commissioner, the duties of the
department have doubled.
"Our intention is to keep up the best service we can for the residents of the
township," he said. "We always look at the way we can provide the best service
without raising the taxes."
Joe Valyo, 51, a two-year resident of the township said he's interested in
running for fire commissioner in order to maintain the current level of
professionalism he sees demonstrated by the township's company.
A Hamilton Township fire captain and firefighter for 21 years, he said he'd
draw from his experience in the field if he were elected commissioner.
"All too often, programs that are really good can be initiated and can be
working really well and depending on how elections go, sometimes those programs
can be eliminated," he said. "For a viable department, it takes years to start
over," he said.
Robert Hutchinson Jr., 30, a volunteer firefighter whose spent 12 years
fighting fires and two and a half years living in Washington Township, said he's
running in the interest of education.
"I'm interested (in being a fire commissioner) because I work a lot with fire
departments and I think I have a good base of educational experience," he said.
"Currently, as the trend with the rest of the nation, the volunteer portion of
the Fire Department needs more emphasis on retention."
One avenue he would like to see the department pursue is sending volunteer
and career firefighters to the training courses available around the country.
Other than that, he said he believes the department is heading in a good
direction for the township.
Elwood Fell, 58, a 30-year volunteer firefighter with the Nottingham Fire
Company in Hamilton Township, said he's been attending Fire Commission meetings
over the past year in order to acquaint himself with the department.
"With 30-some years experience I feel I'm very well-qualified," he said.
"Also being a taxpayer in the district I like to keep the taxes within the
reasonable limit. You really need somebody on the board that understands
firefighting and can question an expenditure prior to a purchase and say, 'Is
this really needed?'"
"I have no grandiose plans of changing things at the present time," he said.
"I will question things."
Candidate James D'Errico could not be reached for comment before The
Messenger-Press' Tuesday deadline.
Polling will take place at the Washington Township Fire Department on Route
130 from 2 to 9 p.m.