Williamstown Prudential Committee Thankful for College Contributions
 Prudential Committee Chairman John Notsley, left, and Fire Chief Craig Pedercini participate in last week's meeting. |
The Prudential Committee last Wednesday detailed how the college helps support fire protection in the Village Beautiful through monetary contributions and otherwise.
"The college has been very generous over the years letting guys serve," Prudential Committee Chairman John Notsley said, referring to the number of staff and students who serve as call-volunteer firefighters in the town.
"They're our key line of defense during the day," committee member Ed Briggs agreed. "If they ever change that policy, we're in trouble."
In terms of money, the college this year increased its contribution to the Fire District by a couple of thousand dollars to $29,500, Clerk/Treasurer Corydon Thurston told the committee.
The college has had a longstanding payment in lieu of taxes arrangement with the Fire District. But that is not the only money the town receives from the private college.
"They're the biggest taxpayer in town, in terms of their taxable property, so they contribute to the regular tax base that way," Thurston said.
That is on top of the $29,500 contribution, which equals 6 percent of the district's operating budget, Thurston noted.
That fiscal 2016 Fire District budget was approved late last month at the annual district meeting, held, as always, a week after the annual town meeting.
At last week's Prudential Committee meeting, the three-man panel decided to increase the salary of Chief Craig Pedercini and add a benefit for the district's firefighters.
Pedercini received a 2 percent increase, a rise of about $1,500. The committee also approved Notsley's proposal to increase the stipend paid to the district's treasurer from $3,000 to $3,500.
The committee agreed that the district should begin paying the firefighters' membership in the Massachusetts Call Volunteer Firefighters Association. Previously, memberships were funded by the Gale Hose Company, a nonprofit associated with the Fire District.
"I think it's more a responsibility of the district than Gale Hose," Notsley said. "It's $15 a head for active members. You're not even talking $500 if you take the active and the retired members."
In addition to being an advocate for volunteer firefighters in the commonwealth, the MCVFA offers its members accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
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