The Board of Fire Commissioners has proposed a $549,276 budget, including $300,000 toward the purchase of the new $810,000 truck.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE At the polls Saturday, voters will be asked to choose two candidates to serve on the Board of Fire Commissioners, approve the board’s 2006 budget and OK the purchase of a new ladder truck.
The board has proposed a $549,276 budget with $300,000 going toward the purchase of the truck. The new $810,000 model will replace a 25-year-old model that no longer meets National Fire Protection Association standards.
The 2006 budget represents a $90,000 increase over the 2005 budget.
If voters give a thumbs down to the separate question asking to buy the new ladder truck, the purchase would be delayed by at least a year. Such a delay would lead to an additional cost of at least $100,000, according to commission Chairman Mitch Ege.
The hike would come from having to meet the more stringent emissions regulations set to go into effect this spring, which would apply to a later purchase, as well as an anticipated increase in the base cost of the truck.
The board wants to pay cash for the truck and avoid accumulating interest. The board has set aside funds for the purchase for several years, including more than $200,000 in 2005.
The proposed budget would raise the tax rate from 7.2 cents to 8.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The fire tax would increase to $261.24 per year for a house assessed at the city average of $311,000. In 2005, the fire tax for a house assessed at the city average of $260,127 was $187.29.
The tax rate is estimated at this time. It will not be finalized until the City Council establishes the city’s budget in May.
The amount of the budget derived solely from taxes would be $537,279. Other revenue sources include about $2,000 in grants and $10,000 in municipal assistance.
Expenditures include a $5,000 increase for maintenance and fuel, for a total of $40,000. Fire safety equipment would rise $4,500, for a total of $7,000.
Another increase can be found in the cost of new pagers, which must be purchased to match the state’s changeover to high-band pagers. The total of $19,160 is $3,960 more than the amount budgeted in 2005.
The commissioners also propose giving each of the four fire companies $12,500 as payment for housing equipment. In 2005, each company was paid $10,000.
In the four-way race for the two vacancies on the board, a father-and-daughter team from the Hibernia Fire Company is running against two veterans of the Union Fire Company.
At 18 years old, Tara Williamson of the Hibernia Fire Company could become the youngest candidate ever elected to the board. She also would become the first woman to hold the position.
A graduate of South Hunterdon Regional High School, she became an official member of Hibernia after completing fire school last August.
Her 49-year-old father, Ken Williamson Sr., is making his third bid for a seat on the board after earlier attempts failed in 2004 and 2005. Mr. Williamson has served with the city’s fire department for 12 years and is a captain in the Hibernia.
He also is a retired member of the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad, and he served for five years with the city’s Office of Emergency Management.
The Williamsons’ opposition comes from the Union Fire Company’s Nate Waldron and Robert "Peachy" Hayes.
Mr. Hayes, 50, is an incumbent trying to win re-election. The other seat up for grabs belongs to Craig Reading, who decided not to seek re-election.
Mr. Hayes previously sat on the board from 1989 to 1992. He served with the Lambertville Fire Department for 34 years and has held a number of positions, including chief. He retired from the top job last June.
He also is retired from his job as a paid firefighter for the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, where he was employed for 25 years.
Mr. Waldron, 39, has been a city firefighter for more than 20 years. He is treasurer of the Union Fire Company, where he is a second-generation firefighter.
Mr. Waldron is employed by Benchmark Hospitality at the North Maple Inn in Basking Ridge, where he is director of conference services. He also is co-owner of a personal concierge service called Twenty-Five.
Voting will take place at the Union firehouse at 230 N. Main St. from 2 to 9 p.m. Voting usually took place at the Columbia firehouse, but was moved because of a fire there in November.