Local towns to hold fire district elections

Millstone, Plumsted, Washington elections set for Feb. 15.

By: Cynthia Koons and Scott Morgan
   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.
Millstone
   The township’s fire elections feature two unopposed candidates. George Gilbert, the fire commission’s current chairman, and Jean Semanchick, the current secretary, are seeking re-election for another three years.
   The district is proposing a budget of $839,370 for 2003, an approximately $3,000 increase over last year’s budget. According to Fire Commissioner Frank Leonard, the district plans to raise approximately $733,370 of its budget from local taxes. That is an increase of nearly $12,000 from last year, which was $721,670.
   Last year’s budget passed by a vote of 151-105.
   The numbers translate into an estimated tax rate of approximately 6.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, compared to last year’s rate of 6.1 cents. That means the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $265,000 can expect to pay $164.30 in fire taxes based on the estimate. This is an increase of approximately $3 over last year’s figures.
   But, Mr. Leonard said, these figures are based on last year’s figures. Millstone is growing, he said, and over 2002, new commercial properties have generated new tax revenues for the town. With the presence of these new ratables, the fire tax rate is expected to drop into the 5 percent range once revenue figures are updated, he said.
   The new figures are expected shortly after the elections, Mr. Leonard said.
   Polling will occur at the Millstone Township Fire Company, 461 Stagecoach Road, on Feb. 15. Polls will be open from 2 to 9 p.m.
Plumsted
   The fire district is expecting to keep its tax rate stable for the third straight year, but there is competition for fire commission seats.
   On Feb. 15, voters will decide whether to accept the district’s proposed $377,954 budget. According to Aaron Heller, a member of the Fire Commission, the district plans to raise $357,400 of that budget through local taxes. This is an increase of approximately $13,000 over last year’s tax revenue figures of $343,313.
   Still, this translates into a steady tax rate of 9 cents per $100 of valuation. The owner of a home at the average assessed value of $125,000 can expect to pay $112.50 in fire taxes this year.
   Mr. Heller said a tax rate hike was staved off, in large part, due to new revenues generated by recent commercial developments in the township.
   Mr. Heller said the revenue increase will go toward equipment for the company, such as air pods, coats, pants and boots. He also said the company will continue to pay on the ladder it purchased in 2001.
   Along with the budget, voters will elect two fire commissioners from a field of three on election day. Seeking re-election are Mr. Heller, a three-year member of the commission, and Pat Tilghman, who filled an unexpired term last year and is running for her first full term. Seeking his first term on the board is Mike Benham, who has served nine years with the New Egypt Volunteer Fire Company. Mr. Benham currently is a member of the New Egypt First Aid Squad.
   Mr. Heller, who is captain of the Groveville Fire Company in Yardville, said he is running again this year because he has "a lot to offer." A full-time firefighter, Mr. Heller said serving the Fire Commission is just the thing to do.
   "It’s tough to step away from it once it’s in your blood," Mr. Heller said.
   Though Mr. Benham is seeking his first term, he said he is no stranger to life as a firefighter. Mr. Benham said he served several years as a firefighter in his native Suffolk, England, and nearly a decade for the New Egypt company before devoting more of his time to the First Aid Squad, where he gets "three times the calls," he said.
   As a candidate, Mr. Benham said he offers his objectivity to the commission.
   "As an independent, I’ll just vote for what I honestly believe," Mr. Benham said. "I don’t have any (special) interests. I’ll just do what I feel is good for the town."
   Ms. Tilghman did not return calls to the Messenger-Press before its Tuesday deadline.
   Polling will take place at the New Egypt Volunteer Fire Company, 59 Main St., from 2 to 9 p.m.
Washington
   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.