Berlin Ends Long Time Arrangement With Taborton Fire District

by David Flint
As of the beginning of this year the Berlin Fire District has ended a 48-year arrangement with the Taborton Fire District to provide fire and emergency protection for residents in the Taborton Road area of Berlin.
The Taborton Board of Fire Commissioners sent a letter in December to affected residents informing them that Berlin would be assuming sole responsibility for protecting their homes and property. According to the letter there are over 120 residences in the area from the Sand Lake town line to Dutch Church Road including the Berlin Fish & Game Club and others in the vicinity of Round Pond, Spring Lake and on various roads off of Taborton Road such as Dingman Road and Bower Road.
The Taborton Commissioners reminded residents that the contract had been initiated in 1963 by Berlin because, “the Berlin Fire Company could not get emergency apparatus up the mountain and to your homes in a timely manner while the Taborton Fire Company is right down the road.” They contended that there has been no change in that situation, and they advised residents to contact the Berlin Fire Commissioners to inquire how the District plans to provide coverage.
According to the Taborton letter, Berlin in 2008 paid $4,000 for coverage in the area, but Fire District taxes in the same area amounted to $22,000. To resolve that discrepancy they said that meetings in 2009 resulted in an agreement that payments from Berlin to Taborton would gradually increase over a twelve-year period until Taborton was receiving 80% of those taxes. Preparing their budget for 2011, they calculated that the amount payable would be $7,467. Berlin initially offered to pay $6,600, but later withdrew the offer, rejected the terms of the verbal agreement and decided they would no longer contract with Taborton.
The Taborton Commissioners wrote that, “While fire districts usually provide backup to each other through mutual aid arrangements, and we would respond under certain conditions if needed, we feel that Berlin’s rejection of a verbal agreement compels us to exercise our right to adopt a resolution of restriction on out of district assistance to Berlin.  This means that Berlin will not be able to circumvent the need for a contract with Taborton by initiating automatic mutual aid.” They also warned residents that, “the distance of the Berlin Fire House from your residence could impact your homeowner’s insurance by placing you in a ‘no protection’ area of coverage.” They continued that they would be holding informational meetings for residents on how to petition to have the area redistricted to Taborton.
Bruce Hake Jr., Vice Chairman of the Berlin Board of Fire Commissioners, said that based on the verbal agreement Berlin paid Taborton $5,500 in 2010. The agreement called for no more than a 5% increase of the base ($22,000) so Berlin offered a $1,100 increase for 2011 which amounted to $6,600. But Taborton contended that the assessment in the area had changed so they wanted not a percentage of the 2008 base but a percentage of the current assessment or $7,467.
At this point the Berlin Commissioners decided to reconsider whether such a contract was beneficial economically to the residents of the Town. Hake had thought that the $6,600 offered was reasonable not only because it complied with the oral agreement but also because there had been on average only ten calls a year in the affected area and since it is estimated that it costs the Berlin Fire Company about $700 to leave the station for a fire or emergency call, $6,600 would be close to the coverage cost.
Hake said that in any case such a contract with another fire district is unusual and not typical. There is a county-wide automatic mutual aid agreement that governs how fire districts and companies assist one another. Fire Commissioners are committed to protecting the citizens with fire and emergency coverage but also committed to doing so in the most economically feasible way. Taborton would be asking more money each year when Berlin is now capable of servicing the area adequately on their own. Hake said that times and equipment have changed in 50 years. Back in 1963 fire trucks had to strain in first gear all the way up the mountain. Now the Berlin Fire Company has more modern equipment, including new fire trucks that can climb the hill at 45 mph. A new command structure includes three Chiefs each with their own assigned fully equipped vehicle.
Hake said that designation of a “no protection area” is definitely questionable. Insurance rates, he said, depend on the ISO rating of the area which is dependent in turn on a myriad of factors such as the amount of water available, training and documentation of fire personnel, etc. Regarding Taborton’s threat to withhold mutual aid, Hake noted that there is an Automatic Mutual Aid agreement throughout the county and the Berlin Fire Commissioners are now dealing with County officials on this matter. He noted, too, that redistricting of the affected area into the Taborton Fire District was unlikely because this would have to be voted on by all the residents of Berlin.
Hake said that the Commissioners have received only one letter and a few phone calls from residents inquiring about Berlin’s plan to take over coverage of the area. Those inquiring have been assured that the Berlin Fire Company will provide adequate coverage and will now proceed to hold drills up in that area and make every effort to become more knowledgeable about the area and its residents.
Berlin Fire Chief Billy Osterhout agreed that the claim of a “no protection” area had no basis in fact. The area, he said, has always had an underwriters ISO rating of 9 and that will not change. He maintained that Berlin would continue to participate in and expect mutual aid from other companies. The Taborton Fire Company, he said, would, along with Averill Park, be on the box alarm for calls in that area. Whether they respond or not, he said, is up to them.
Osterhout said that the Berlin Fire Company would cover the new area just as they do other outlying areas. He acknowledged that it is a new area and they would have to learn more about it and they are now proceeding to do just that. He said he had spoken with a few residents of the area who had concerns, but they appeared to be receptive to the new plan after being reassured that Berlin had the means to provide proper protection.
Mark Bonesteel, a resident of Bower Road, said he did have some concern about Taborton losing the contract because he lives just 1.3 miles from the Taborton fire house, but it takes 15 to 20 minutes on a good day to get to the Berlin fire house. But Bonesteel, who in fact was the Taborton Fire Chief for seven years, believes that the Taborton Fire Commissioners have done the residents a disservice by causing the termination of the contract in their quest for more money. And regarding Taborton’s threat to adopt a resolution of restriction on out of district assistance to Berlin, Bonesteel said it was “100% wrong” to single Berlin out for mutual aid restriction because they had a problem with them.
Bonesteel thought that over a matter of some $900 the Commissioners should have been able to come to some agreement. He recalled that in the past the amount to be paid was renegotiated every year and usually there was some increase but the amount had never been based on the fire district assessments. Taborton, he said, is now missing about $6,000 in their budget, an amount that Bonesteel believed was reasonable for Berlin to pay for ten calls a year, and residents have lost the coverage they had. He does believe, however, that the Berlin plan is feasible, though he would feel better if an idea they said they were considering about keeping a truck up on the plateau were to become reality. “It’s unfortunate this has happened,” he said, but, “Berlin will step up to the plate and take care of the issue. We will see how it works out.”