ST. ALBANS, Maine — Whether to absorb the St. Albans Fire Department under the town’s financial umbrella will be the question facing voters during a special town meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
The Fire Department, which is staffed by volunteers, has operated as a nonprofit corporate entity for years, according to Town Manager Rhonda Stark. A major reason for the proposed change, which is endorsed unanimously by selectmen, is to pull the department completely under the town’s insurance coverage.
“To buy liability insurance on their own is very expensive and it eats up whatever fundraising is done every year,” Stark said. The town’s insurance policy already covers firefighters when they are on a call or training, but not for other activities such as doing volunteer work in the community or operating a booth at the annual St. Albans Summerfest.
Under the change, the department would replace its checking account with one overseen by town staff. The town already technically owns most of the department’s gear and fire station, according to Stark. Anything that has been purchased by the department with privately raised dollars will be turned over to the town as well.
Members of the Fire Department voted to dissolve it as an incorporation on Aug. 26, according to Stark. Fire Chief Brian Crocker could not be reached for comment.
Steve Hinds, fire chief for the city of Bath and first vice president of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, told the Bangor Daily News that many fire departments across Maine operate as nonprofit corporations, but that it is not abnormal for them to merge with a town, just as is proposed in St. Albans.
“This kind of change is not uncommon, especially in smaller communities,” said Hinds. “In fact, we’re starting to see more and more of it.”
Hinds said that although he wasn’t familiar with St. Albans specifically, the expense of liability insurance goes up as the ranks of volunteers shrink.
“It runs in cycles,” he said.
At the town meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Albans Town Hall, voters will consider three articles related to the switch:
• To see whether the town will accept the assets of the department.
• To enact an ordinance that spells out the new relationship.
• To establish a reserve account for money donated to or raised by the department during fundraisers.
“There are other towns doing just what we are doing,” Stark said. “It’s not rare for people to think that the department is already part of the town.”
