New Jersey Fire Districts' Survival Depends On Voters

Feb. 11--The Cape May Court House Volunteer Fire Company purchased its first motorized fire truck, a red Ford Motel T with steel-spoked wheels that rumbled along unpaved roads, almost 90 years ago.

On Feb. 18, the company will ask voters in Middle Township Fire District No. 1 to help fund the latest in a long string of fire equipment that has served to protect locals and the high volume of seasonal visitors who pass through.

The fire district is one of 185 in the state that hold annual elections on the third Saturday in February, asking voters within their designated borders to elect fire commissioners, approve their budgets and permit special expenditures.

There are 10 municipalities in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and southern Ocean counties that are divided into 30 fire districts.

Usually, a tiny percentage of voters takes interest in these elections or even knows they exist. In many cases, firefighters, their friends and their families make up the bulk of voters.

"We always tell our firefighters, if you don't do anything else all year, come out and support your fire budget," said Cliff Higbee, the recently retired longtime chief of the Fortescue and Newport fire companies.

Often, it takes a major purchase to rouse residents' interest, such as funding a new firehouse or vehicles, which a few local fire districts are considering this year.

The Cape May Court House department is asking voters to approve issuing a bond for as much as $600,000 to purchase new equipment. The Belleplain Volunteer Fire Company in Dennis Township is also seeking approval to bond for a $300,000 firetruck.

Several other departments are looking to get special appropriations in addition to their operating budgets to finance the various and often expensive costs of running fire departments.

The East Vineland Volunteer Fire Company in Buena Vista Township is seeking approval for its budget, which contains $335,000 raised from previous budgets to pay for a new fire hall.

A fire district can cost a homeowner hundreds of dollars in annual taxes on top of the municipal, school and county taxes they already pay.

But information about fire district budgets can also be difficult to find.

The districts operate autonomously, and it is not always easy to contact their members since most are volunteers. Few fire companies have websites, and even fewer provide basic financial information on their websites.

Even the ballots list little information for voters, including only a budget's total size and not giving an indication of whether the tax rate will change.

"It's very vague the information they provide, and the commissioners get mad when you ask them about it. We're allowed to ask questions," said Barbara Cresse, president of the Middle Township Taxpayers Association, a group of concerned residents that scrutinize local public budgets.

Indeed, several fire officials were skeptical about talking to a reporter from The Press of Atlantic City when asked for information about this year's election. East Vineland fire commissioners said they did not want to provide information about the budget and the new firehouse that is under construction.

There have been efforts to make fire districts more transparent to the public.

One possible way to generate more interest in fire elections would be to move them to the fall, but bills that would have done that have failed in the past, partly due to opposition from firefighters.

As it stands, fire budgets, like school budgets, go to the local municipality to be adjusted if residents vote them down.

At the end of the last legislative session, Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill that would require all state agencies, board and commissions, including fire districts, to start posting basic information online about finances, meetings and ways to contact officials by next February.

Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, a co-sponsor of the law and a lifetime member of the Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company in Dennis Township, said that should significantly affect making information more available to the public.

But he also said he believes residents are more gracious to have volunteer firefighters than they are critical of how they spend their money. The very fact that they are volunteers saves communities untold costs, he said.

"You can't even imagine what the cost would be to these small towns if they had to have paid firefighters," he said.

Cape May Court House Fire Commissioner Keith Arenberg said that fact gets lost on a lot of people who question the costs of fire departments' operations.

"People have to remember, when you come by the firehouse, there's a big V, and that V stands for 'volunteer,'" he said.

Cresse said she feels that firefighters too often use that as a shield from criticism.

"Everybody appreciates the work of the fire department," she said. "No one is complaining about that, we're just saying, 'Do we need a new fire truck right now?' And maybe we do. We don't know."

Contact Lee Procida:

609-272-7227

[email protected]

If you vote

Fire district elections are held from 2 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18 in the following municipalities. Your tax bill should indicate which district you are in if your municipality has fire districts.Contact your local fire hall to get information about mail-in ballots and budget details.

Atlantic County: Buena, Buena Vista Township

Cape May County: Dennis Township, Middle Township, Lower Township, Upper Township

Cumberland County: Commercial Township, Downe Township, Maurice River Township

Ocean County: Little Egg Harbor Township