BURRILLVILLE – The Pascoag Fire District will hold its annual meeting on Monday, Sept. 12, and voters in the village will have the chance to choose from six candidates for two three-year seats on the fire commission.
Voters will also approve – or reject – a budget that has no increase for taxpayers for the fiscal year beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
“The proposed budget has no tax increase,” said Commission Chairman Christopher Toti, who is up for reelection this year.
Also running for a seat on the board is former commissioner Brian Mathieu. Mathieu resigned from the board in 2019 when he moved to Harrisville, but is now part-owner of Burrillville Motors in Pascoag, which qualifies him to return to the fire district leadership role as a “taxable inhabitant,” of the village.
The ballot also features three newcomers hoping to fill a seat. Andrea St. Pierre, the daughter of former Pascoag Fire part-time interim Chief Mark St. Pierre, is among those running. The interim chief was recently replaced by new, permanent fire Chief Michael Dexter.
Additional names on the ballot for the commission are Donald Davies and Matthew Alix.
Only two of the six commission hopefuls will go on to serve three year terms leading the district. Commissioners Raymond Trinque, Carmella White and Jim Richards are only part way through active three year terms.
Commissioner Kathleen Polacek, whose term is set to expire this year, is not seeking reelection in 2022.
The district’s part time Business Manager, Bradford Provencal, meanwhile, hopes to continue serving as the commission’s clerk.
The election comes amid improved financial conditions in the district that have allowed for the acquisition of new equipment, even as debt is eliminated, according to Toti. PFD has a new engine tanker coming at the end of next year with help of grant funding, as well as a new rescue on the way – to be paid for in cash. The chairman noted that the district has solved major pension issues over the past few years and retired around $1 million in debt, collecting around half a million in back taxes.
“That’s allowing us to do a lot of these things,” Toti said of recent efforts to recoup overdue taxes.
The annual meeting will be held at the Pascoag Fire Department’s Hose Company #2 at 141 Howard Ave. starting at 7 p.m. Early voting will take place at the Pascoag station from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but those votes will be limited to the election of officers, and not the annual budget.
The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
NRI NOW is offering candidates for the commission the chance to publish information on their platform and reasons for running. All are invited to send relevant information and a headshot to sandy@nrinow.news.
