Sumner Cuts Mutual Fire Aid to Hartford

by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling
     
     SUMNER – On July 12, Sumner Fire Chief Bob Stewart sent a letter to Hartford town officials stating that the Fire Department will not respond to Hartford emergencies any longer.
     “The Sumner Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) will no longer be responding to calls in Hartford,” said Stewart.
     Stewart says that Hartford is looking for a free ride from Sumner, while Hartford officials say they lacked the means to pay an unexpected $1,000 bill, and in any case are covered under Sumner's mutual aid agreement with Buckfield Rescue.
     During a meeting last week, the Hartford selectboard reversed its original position and agreed in principle to pay the bill, although they still need to consult with the town's Budget Committee before moving forward with the payment.
     
     Cary Hill
     The issue came to a head after Hartford failed to pay an invoice submitted by Sumner Volunteer Fire Department for a call on Cary Hill.
     “Historically, Sumner has responded to many calls in Hartford and was not in the practice of charging for short term fire calls,” said Stewart in his letter. “However, in cases of calls that are of long duration, we have billed and, in turn, have been reimbursed by Hartford.”
     Stewart says that the Cary Hill call was long in duration, but that Hartford didn't pay for the call, despite having been billed three times.
     The SVFD “provided essential water supply services for all responding departments,” wrote Stewart.
     “Buckfield called them for help with water,” said Hartford Selectboard Chair Lee Holman.
     Holman says that there were as many as eight responding departments during the Cary Hill fire, including representatives from Canton, Turner, Buckfield, Leeds, Paris, West Paris, Hebron, Paris, and Sumner.
     “It was quite a conflagration,” said Holman. She noted that the house ultimately burned to to ground.
     
     Mutual Aid
     Some of the disagreement between Stewart and Hartford stems from disagreement over the rights and obligations connected to the concept of mutual aid.
     There is no fire department in Hartford, but they do pay various fire and rescue departments for coverage.
     Hartford Town Clerk Lianne Bedard says that Hartford contracts with Buckfield's fire department to cover Hartford, and that Sumner is responding to Buckfield's mutual aid requests.
     “Buckfield Rescue is the one that calls Sumner in for mutual aid,” said Bedard.
     Stewart says that you can't receive mutual aid when you can't provide mutual aid in return.
     “Our understanding is mutual aid exists between towns that are able to provide a mutual aid service in return, and/or a contract exists between said towns,” wrote Stewart.
     He also noted that Sumner is not bound by an Oxford County mutual aid agreement.
     “Sumner Volunteer Fire Department has yet to sign this agreement,” he wrote.
     But Holman says that Sumner has a mutual aid agreement with Buckfield, and that this agreement should cover Hartford as well.
     According to Holman, Hartford pays a total of $25,000 annually to fire and rescue services in Buckfield, Canton, and Turner.
     
     Financial and Legal Issues
     Tight finances and legal questions have caused Hartford to question whether they should pay the bill, which Holman says caught the town unaware.
     “It's been at least eight years since we've had to pay for mutual aid,” said Holman. “Our miscellaneous fire fund is only $250. Ultimately, we did not have the funding to pay for this.”
     Hartford town officials consulted with Trish McAllister, the town's attorney, to see whether they could pay for the bill from other accounts, but Holman says that laws governing municipal spending prevented them from paying the bill from another source, such as a contingency fund.
     “We didn't have the authority to pay this bill,” said Holman.
     Holman also questioned whether the bill might be the responsibility of the insurance company that served the homeowner.
     “Why can't the homeowner's insurance cover this miscellaneous expense? I don't know,” said Holman.
     Holman also said that Hartford considered the option of making a donation to the SVFD in order to meet the obligation of the bill without committing to a potentially expensive precedent.
     By paying the bill, Hartford may be inviting other area departments to send them similar bills.
     “I do wish we had opted to pay this as a donation,” said Holman. “Our fire warden and others have said that other towns may be put out that we paid for mutual aid, because it is not supposed to be paid for.”
     Both towns agree that the issue comes down to money.
     “I know we have paid in the past, but the town didn't have it in its budget this year,” said Bedard.
     Sumner's Fire Department “has a very small operating budget,” wrote Stewart. “In these times of financial stress, we can not ask the citizens of Sumner to pay for Fire Department Services in Hartford.”
     
     Future
     Hartford's selectmen are still formulating an official position on the issue .
     During a meeting last week, the Hartford selectboard decided to pay the bill, which Holman says runs counter to the advice of the town's attorney.
     “In the end, last night, the selectboard did essentially reverse its decision and decide to pay that bill,” said Holman. “It may have been ill advised. We'll see what happens.”
     Holman said that she is eager to come up with a practice that all of the towns can live with.
     “They are our neighbors, and I want to see them do well, as we want to see all our neighbors do well,” said Holman. “We don't want to be seen as the cads of the Western Maine neighborhood.”
     Selectman John Plumley says that they hope to come up with a policy that is fair for everyone.
     “I think Sumner should be put put in our budget for mutual aid, but that's something that the budget committee has to talk about,” said Plumley. “The selectboard does feel that they should get their money.”
     The issue underscores a larger problem that sees cash-strapped towns redefining the boundaries of services that have traditionally been seen as give-and-take. Now, towns are more likely to quantify the give and the take to make sure that they are not charging their taxpayers more than is absolutely necessary.
     Buckfield Town Manager Glen Holmes has recently approached Sumner, Hartford, and Canton to try to find solutions to volunteer shortages and other problems that have affected the region's fire departments.
     “Glen asked us for one selectboard member and our fire warden to be part of a committee,” said Holman. “The last thing we want to do is see the Sumner Volunteer Fire Department have a hard time.”
     She says that she recognizes the budget struggles that the SVFD is going through. “Obviously, as neighbors, of course we want to help them out. They're volunteers. They get some funding with yard sales and bake sales, so of course we want to help.”
     
     Communication
     Part of the problem seems to have been a lack of communication between the two entities.
     “It is my understanding that you have never contacted Sumner Town Officials or myself regarding this outstanding bill,” said Stewart in his letter.
     Holman says that, in fact, they did send information to Sumner about the issue.
     “We were told not to pay this,” said Holman. “So we sent Sumner our lawyer's correspondence, so they could review it and see why we weren't coughing up the dough.”
     Presumably, the regional committee being formed by Buckfield will help to get key players to work together and come up with mutual decisions.
     When told that the selectboard intended to pay the bill, Stewart did not have an immediate reaction.
     “I don't know yet,” he said. “You'll have to ask me later.”