Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The full Senate could hold a vote as early as next week.
The Rhode Island House voted 73-0 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would abolish the East Greenwich Fire District, allowing for the establishment of a Town of East Greenwich fire department. Two members abstained. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Anthony Giarrusso (R-E.G.). It came at the request of the Town Council following a two-thirds majority vote on a referendum last November that asked EG voters if they thought the Fire District should become part of the town. As it stands, the Fire District is a completely separate municipal entity, with its own taxing authority. An identical bill is before the state Senate. The Senate Finance Committee approved that bill Tuesday; a vote before the full Senate could happen next week. If that bill …
Monday, April 29, 2013
The R.I. House Municipal Government Committee approves a bill allowing the Town of East Greenwich to take over the Fire District; the full House will vote on the bill on Wednesday.
The Rhode Island House Municipal Government Committee approved a bill Thursday that would dissolve the East Greenwich Fire District, making way for the Town of East Greenwich to establish a fire department. It was the first legislative hurdle toward a takeover following passage of a referendum last November in which voters said a town fire department was preferable to a separate fire district. "We're very pleased," said Town Council President Michael Isaacs simply. The House bill now goes before the full House on Wednesday. Meanwhile, on the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on the bill on Tuesday. If passed there, it will then go to the full Senate. Since both bills are identical, it would seem there would be no need …
Friday, March 29, 2013
If the district is dissolved and reestablished as a town department, the town will probably lose that funding source.
This is one in a series of articles on what legislation before the General Assembly to abolish the fire district will mean for residents of East Greenwich. One result of the possible dissolution of the East Greenwich Fire District could be the end of a 10-year-old funding source that has brought in $1.3 million into the district. In 2002, the district passed an ordinance allowing for the imposition of commercial impact fees on developers building projects in East Greenwich. The Town of East Greenwich does not impose commercial impact fees and according to Town Council President Michael Isaacs, there's no plan to change that policy in the event legislation before the General Assembly passes to abolish the separate fire district in favor of…
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
State Senate colleague Dawson Hodgson strongly disagrees.
State Sen. Lou Raptakis told the Town Council and Fire District commissioners Monday night that resolutions where there's disagreement between the parties fail "99 percent" of the time in General Assembly, breathing fresh life into some of the EGFD commissioners' hopes to be able to remain independent. That was after about 45 minutes of heated debate over whether or not voters understood that the referendum they passed in November – to merge the Fire District with the town – would actually come to pass without another townwide vote. For video from the meeting, click here. East Greenwich state legislators attended a joint meeting of the Town Council and the EG Fire District to discuss legislation the Council is drafting to create a …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Town Council members suggest some sort of advisory fire commission could continue at least in the short term.
EG Fire Commission President Bill Daly came out strongly against merging with the town during a joint Town Council-East Greenwich Fire Commission meeting Monday to discuss the matter. But by meeting's end (a mere 75 minutes later), Daly and the other Fire Commissioners agreed to review draft merger legislation with an eye toward resuming discussions with the Town Council by the end of the month. At the beginning of the meeting, Daly read a statement he'd written that questioned the real benefits of merging with the town and instead he proposed forming a task force to evaluate merging. "We know that prior to voting on the referendum the voters were not provided any data or information which would demonstrate that the merger would: save …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
But they will hold off submitting it until after they meet again with Fire District commissioners on Feb. 4.
The Town Council will review a draft of legislation calling for the East Greenwich Fire District to be merged with the Town of East Greenwich at their next meeting, on Jan. 28. In November, voters approved by a two-to-one margin a nonbinding referendum question that asked if the Fire District should be merged with the town. The Fire District was against the merger and remains a reluctant party to the discussion. According to Town Council President Michael Isaacs, Fire Commissioner Chairman Bill Daly told him the Fire District has "some ideas they want to put on the table." He did not specify what those ideas might entail. Town Solicitor Peter Clarkin said the Fire District's solicitor, Scott Spear, indicated he thought a binding …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
From the possible Fire District merger and the Greenwich Odeum to teacher contract negotiations and possible changes in school safety plans.
Merging Town and Fire District: The 2-to-1 vote in favor of merging the East Greenwich Fire District with the Town of EG in November was just the beginning of what could be a long, possibly contentious, process. The Town Council approved a motion to have Town Manager Bill Sequino meet with EGFD Chief Peter Henrikson to talk about the mechanics of such a move. Meanwhile, the Fire District considered a motion against any action toward a merger, but pulled back, deciding to wait at least until after they meet with the Council in February. Greenwich Odeum: The Main Street theater hosts its first official acts later this month but tension remains between the theater's longtime owner, Steve Erinakes, and the Odeum board. According to the board…
Friday, December 21, 2012
They table a motion that would have out and out opposed merging with the Town – instead, they will wait until after a meeting Feb. 4 with the Town Council.
Fire District Commissioner Steve Bartlett likened it to a train that's left the station and is bearing down on them – the sense that the Town Council has the Fire District in its sights and "it's looking to sweep away the Fire District as we know it." That was the sense of at least some on the Fire District Thursday night, when they discussed the referendum – which passed 2-to-1 in November in favor of merging the District with the Town – and what to do next. Fire Commissioner Bill Daly put forth a motion "to oppose the merger of the East Greenwich Fire District into the Town of East Greenwich" and then he listed eight reasons, including the apparent lack of any "meaningful" increase in savings. Mark Schwager and Mark Gee both spoke …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
It remains unclear how the Fire District will proceed.
According to Town Councilman Jeff Cianciolo, the voice of the people came through loud and clear on Election Day: the vote on merging the EG Fire District with the Town of East Greenwich passed by a 2-to-1 margin. "I think it's incumbent on us to try to work with the Fire District and our state legislators to prepare legislation to merge the district with the town," Cianciolo said at Monday night's Town Council meeting at Swift Community Center. Town Manager Bill Sequino said he'd spoken to Fire Commission Chair Bill Daly earlier in the day and Daly told him the commissioners would be discussing the referendum at their next meeting, Dec. 20. Sequino said Daly did not tip his hand as to the direction of those talks. According to Town …
James R
7:33 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
Great! more ›