Fire Marshal Runs Out of Money for Part-timers

As of Friday, the Fire Marshal's Office will be out of money to pay its part-time deputy fire marshal and fire inspector through the end of the fiscal year. Tuesday night the Board of Finance denied a request for a special appropriation of $9,000 to keep the part-timers on. The board is expecting Fire Marshal Fred Baker to and for Building Department official Paul Payne to pick up the slack. 

Baker told the Board of Finance his office needs to conduct about 388 initial inspections each year, some of which then require follow-up to make sure fire code violations have been corrected. The office has already been operating with a reduced staff as both the two-part timers had been working two days a week until their hours were cut in half last year. 

Though he was unable to tell the board Tuesday exactly how many inspections his office had completed thus far this fiscal year, he estimated that 129 initial inspections—a third of that 388—are left to be done with roughly 80 days to go. 

"It doesn't seem unreasonable," said board member Paul Giusti, "to get that done between now and the end of the year."

"If that's the only thing I had to do all day," Baker responded, "you're right, it doesn't seem like that much." But, he said, taking on more of that work load would slow his ability to turn around site plan reviews and answer residents' questions. 

The board decided they could live with that. 

"I sense that the board is comfortable without this additional $9,000," said First Selectman and Board of Finance Chairman Jeb Walker. 

All the members of the Board of Finance, except for alternate John Emert voted against Baker's request for additional funds. 

The board unanimously approved a subsequent motion to have Building Department official Paul Payne start doing fire inspections one day a week as soon as he finishes his certification next week. As part of the 2010-2011 budget proposal, the town had planned to bring Payne over one day a week starting in July. 

Chief Building Official Brian Platz said in an interview later that with the current slow pace of construction, he has no problem sparing Payne earlier. 

But Baker noted that Payne would not be able to do inspections on his own immediately, as even after he is certified he has to be trained on the Fire Marshal's protocols and software. "That's gonna take a couple month right there," he told the board. 

And, though the Board of Selectmen increased the part-time salary line for the Fire Marshal's Office by about 53 percent in the 2010-2011 budget the Board of Finance is now reviewing, Baker is worried that the two part-timers being cut now won't come back in four months. 

William Dingee, Deputy Fire Marshal, "he has been here for 16, 17 years; that historical knowledge—you can't put a price on that," Baker said.