Plainfield — Plainfield voters at Town Meeting in March won’t see an article on the ballot to merge the independent Plainfield and Meriden fire departments into one municipal department that would be overseen by the town.

Town officials and representatives from both fire departments have decided to wait another year to allow for more time to fully vet the idea, said Frank Currier, the joint fire chief for both departments.

“We just want more time to be able to figure out exactly how both sides want things to operate,” Currier said in a telephone interview this week. “Overall, it is going to be good for everybody.”

The decision to wait took place at the Plainfield Selectboard meeting on Wednesday night.

The idea of merging the private, nonprofit fire departments was prompted by insurance discussions, said Plainfield Selectman Rob Taylor, who previously served as a member of the Meriden department and whose brother Bill is now deputy chief.

As it stands now, the departments aren’t part of a municipal government, so they carry more liability and have difficulty obtaining affordable liability and workers’ compensation insurance, Taylor said.

Other potential problems loom for private departments, which makes the switch attractive, Taylor said.

If the town was to put the article on the warrant this year, the change would automatically take effect a year after its passage — in March 2018.

Town Administrator Steve Halleran said there was talk of putting the article on the warrant this March, and changing the clause to have it take effect in March 2019, to afford both sides more time.

Town counsel, however, said changing that date may present legal problems, so it made sense to wait, Halleran said.

“Now they can take a year and continue to move along and have everything ready,” Halleran said. “Sometimes things crawl in small New England towns, and that is OK.”

Response times to calls and the ability to provide adequate fire coverage to the town wouldn’t change under the re-structure, which Halleran deemed merely administrative.

Currier, the chief, said late last month the merger may never happen. This week, he said, that is now less likely.

“I feel pretty confident at this point that there will be something on the warrant (next year),” Currier said.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.