Plainfield’s annual school district meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, at the Plainfield Elementary School. Ballot voting to elect town and school officers will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, in the school gymnasium. Town Meeting also will be held there at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, to decide the budget and other warrant articles.
Plainfield
An article on this year’s Town Meeting warrant calls for creation of the “Plainfield Fire Department,” which would replace the existing Meriden and Plainfield volunteer companies.
While a merger might sound like a big shift to some, it’s largely an administrative change, according to Bill Taylor, the joint chief of the two departments.
As part of a merger, both fire stations would continue to operate with existing engines and volunteers, Taylor said last week.
The only difference, he said, is that the town would legally become responsible for operation of the new department, as well as its vehicles and buildings.
Taylor said the idea of a merger has been discussed for years, initially as a solution to insurance issues.
Because the existing fire departments are nonprofits, they cannot qualify for municipal insurance rates, Taylor said, adding that town ownership could cut those costs nearly in half.
The volunteer departments also were without the liability protections written in to state law to protect town-run fire companies, he said.
“We were kind of in a lurch,” Taylor said. “It just seemed to make the most sense to become the town of Plainfield fire department.”
If the merger is approved, the titles to each fire departments’ vehicles and buildings will be signed over to the town in the coming year, with the merger taking effect in 2019.
Taylor said fundraising and civic activities, including Meriden’s wild game dinners and Plainfield’s spaghetti suppers, also will continue. However, discussions on how to pay off existing loans are still ongoing, he said.
Although the departments are now nonprofits, Plainfield provides annual funding so they can continue responding to fire and safety calls.
In 2017, the town allocated $54,375 to the Plainfield Volunteer Fire Department and $43,857 to the Meriden Volunteer Fire Department, according to the proposed 2018 budget.
The town’s Selectboard is supportive of the idea, said Town Administrator Steve Halleran, who added that members of both departments desire such a merger.
“This is not a hostile takeover or anything like that,” he said last week.
Plainfield residents also will be asked to approve a $2.3 million 2018 budget at Town Meeting, which amounts to a 3.6 increase over the current year’s.
Halleran said much of that increase is due to fixed costs, including salaries, health insurance and contributions to the New Hampshire Retirement System.
“The budget is relatively flat,” he said last week. “It looks a lot like an operating budget that residents would have seen over the years, and I don’t think it will be particularly controversial.”
If the budget is approved, the town estimates the municipal tax rate would increase by 40 cents. For a homeowner with a property valued at $250,000, that would amount to $100 in additional taxes.
The town warrant also asks voters to approve an additional $25,000 for a Meriden Library Building fund.
If that is approved, Halleran said, the appropriation would mark the first taxpayer money set aside to renovate or potentially replace the library, which currently is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
About $250,000 privately has been raised for such a building project, he said.
The Meriden Public Library has drawn controversy in the past.
Last year, a petition warrant article called for the town to end public funding for operations there.
Supporters argued the building is outdated, and community members could continue to use the Philip Read Memorial Library in Plainfield Village.
However, that petition article was defeated by a 225-29 ballot vote last March.
Another article on this year’s warrant asks for $25,000 for fire department vehicles. If the town takes ownership of the current departments’ fleets, Halleran said, it also should begin to put money away to replace or repair those vehicles.
Excluded from this year’s warrant is an article requesting that Kimball Union Academy be exempt from local property taxes.
The article, which allowed KUA to forgo about $92,000 in taxes in exchange for financial aid to students from Plainfield, had appeared annually.
But, Halleran said, officials decided to phase it out due to declining enrollment at Plainfield Elementary School, as well as fewer students deciding to attend the private high school.
The Plainfield School District will ask voters to approve a nearly $6.8 million budget during its annual meeting.
The proposed budget would be a 4.1 percent increase over the current 2017-18 budget, and seeks to make up for declining state aid, according to School Board Chairwoman Kate Whybrow.
Aside from rising personnel costs, she said, the budget includes an increase in hours for two part-time teachers, as well as more time for professional development to help educators meet state standards.
“This year, we have worked very, very hard to keep increases pretty minimal, out of concern for taxpayers,” Whybrow said.
If the budget is approved, the district estimates it will collect $5.5 million from taxes, a 6.3 percent increase over the current year’s.
Voters also will be asked to approve a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Plainfield Support Staff Association. The agreement calls for an additional $19,113 in spending during the 2018-19 school year, followed by increases of $18,865 and $19,736, respectively, in the following years.
The district’s three-year agreement with the Plainfield Educational Association also will require voter approval. That agreement would cost an additional $40,715 in its first year, followed by $39,526 and $40,317 in the coming school years.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.