By Barbara O’Brien
The Buffalo News
BOSTON, N.Y. — Disagreements between firefighters and the Town of Boston have residents wondering if anyone will respond to a fire call after Dec. 31.
Firefighters say there will be no protection if a new contract is not signed.
“They don’t realize the consequences,” said Richard Hawkins, president of Patchin Volunteer Fire Company and spokesman for all three companies serving the town.
The town supervisor says firefighters are using scare tactics. “They’re basically holding the town hostage,” Supervisor Martin A. Ballowe said.
The contracts with the town’s three fire companies expire at the end of the month. The Town Board has proposed paying North Boston, Patchin and Boston volunteer fire companies $150,940 apiece, the same amount they got this year.
The fire companies said they would accept no increase this year, but they want a three-year contract with 3 percent increases in the second and third years.
That has met with resistance from the supervisor, who is serving his first year and negotiating his first fire contracts. He said he will not sign a three-year contract.
Two meetings will be held on the issue.
Fire companies have invited residents to a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the Boston Fire Hall, 6746 Mill St.
The board is conducting a public hearing on the proposed contracts at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall, 8500 Boston State Road. While the Dec. 31 deadline looms, and each side digs in, the possible consequences of starting the new year without a contract are unknown.
There could be repercussions for residents’ fire insurance, which could increase in cost or be canceled, firefighters say. Schools and day care centers using fire halls for emergency evacuation centers could close, they said.
Ballowe said the effects of not signing a contract are not known, but he remains against offering more than a one-year agreement.
“I don’t know what tomorrow brings in this economy,” Ballowe said. “I’m not signing three-year deals with increases.”
He said the payment to fire companies has gone up 37 percent in eight years. The money pays for trucks and other equipment, rental, gas, electricity and supplies. The town also pays for life dispatch services, workers’ compensation and life insurance.
“I can’t keep giving them money we don’t have, the pool is only so big,” Ballowe said.
But the fire companies are adamant. “We’ve always had three-year contracts,” said Hawkins, a former Town Board member and supervisor.
He said the fire companies also want the issue settled and do not want to spend time next year in more negotiations.
“We’ve been negotiating for six months,” Hawkins said. “We’re not going to do this every year. We’re volunteers. We have families.”
Hawkins said the fire companies sat down with Ballowe, explained their operations and provided financial information. He said the new administration first wanted to provide different amounts to each company and has refused to budge on the length of the contract.
The supervisor said he is trying to make sure the town is financially stable.
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