Key question remains: should they be merged?
By: Al Wicklund
MONROE The report from the League of Women Voters of Monroe Township’s committee that has studied the township’s fire districts for two years is information-packed and even-handed. However, it left a key question without an answer.
Remaining unanswered was the question of possibly merging the township’s three fire districts into one.
The committee released its fire-district report Monday in a league meeting at the Monroe Township Public Library. The study of the fire districts was one of a continuing series initiated by the Monroe League.
"When we first began this study two years ago, many people kept asking, ‘Why do we have three fire districts? Why don’t we just merge into one fire district?’ " the study said.
The committee’s report said the answer "still eludes us."
The report pointed out the differences in paid and volunteer firefighters among the three districts.
Fire District 1, with its firehouse on Harrison Avenue, had, when the league gathered its information, 40 to 45 volunteers, with approximately 25 actively involved, and three paid firefighters who cover day shifts, while District 3, with its Central Monroe firehouse on Schoolhouse Road, had all paid firefighters, nine full time and 24 part time, with no volunteers. Fire District 2, with a firehouse on Applegarth Road, had five paid firefighters and 25 volunteers, 10 active and 15 available on occasion, the report said.
The report said merging into one fire district could result in a further decrease in volunteerism.
Further, it said changes are hard to put in place.
"Change, and the threat of change, makes people insecure; they want to cling to the known and familiar," the report said.
Many in the audience spoke of an interest in merging the districts or, at least studying the possible pluses and minuses of a merger.
A lesser number, including some firefighters who attended the meeting, spoke in favor of keeping the district system as it now stands.
Councilman Irwin Nalitt, a member of the audience, said a public referendum would be needed to change the districts.
In its recommendations in other areas, the committee asked for:
more understandable information about budgets before the public votes on them;
increased efforts for greater voter participation, including increased use of absentee ballots, and stricter monitoring of elections, including the use of outside observers during balloting and the counting of votes;
the institution of training for fire commissioners who currently receive nothing to prepare them to serve in their elected positions;
periodic reports or something similar to communicate with a public that is mostly unaware of the fire district and its activities;
coordination of fire district activities, including the placement of new fire stations, with other agencies of government.
The report was prepared by a committee chaired by Rita Gordon with members Ruth Banks, Barbara Lumia, Stella Lupowitz, Elaine Pepperman, Judy Perkus, Lee Potkewitz, Florence Spencer, Dorothy Tranes, Marilyn Wanger and Selma Zorowitz.