NORWICH – Town ambulance and fire contract rates were the biggest issue on the agenda at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Norwich Common Council.
The issue, which was discussed at the January Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, is that a five-year contract between the city and surrounding towns for ambulance and fire service expired in December. Committee members had expressed concern with the fee structure charged to the towns for the services.
“We wanted to confirm the dollar amount, going forward over the next five years, would be adequate,” said City Finance Director Bill Roberts. In addition to the fixed costs associated with the services, the city also has to take the rising costs of labor, benefits, energy and fuel into consideration. Roberts said that after some preliminary calculations, put together by Mayor Joseph Maiurano and Council President Terry Bresina, the city seems to be breaking even.
In addition, Roberts pointed out that because the initial contracts had already been received by the towns, public meetings had already been held and tax rates for those fire districts had already been implemented. “It would make it complex to change things now,” Roberts said.
Ward 4 Alderman Walter Schermerhorn said he would like to see the numbers before any decision was reached.
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