Fire Commissioners Schedule Vote on Capital Reserve Funds

By CASPAR EWIG
FLY CREEK

At their monthly meeting on Friday, July 17, the Fly Creek Fire District Commissioners scheduled a vote for Tuesday, August 13 on a resolution the board had previously passed to establish three capital reserve funds related to continued operation of the fire district. The three funds are as follows: a fund to cover the purchase of a fire truck, a second fund to finance repairs and general maintenance of the fire district equipment, and a third fund to cover construction of, improvements to, and acquisition relative to the fire district building.

“There is no question,” Fire Commission Chair Sam Hoskins said, “but that the fire district needs to prepare to purchase a new fire truck to complement the existing fleet.”

He noted that the fire district’s present fleet consists of a 1985 pumper, a 1997 pumper/tanker and a 1998 pumper/hauler.

“While this equipment is operable,” Hoskins continued, “the serviceable life expectancy is about 25 years, so that even the newer equipment will be beyond that date. And, of course, the older the equipment gets, the more it consumes repair costs, and replacement parts become harder to obtain, so a new or newer used unit becomes the more practical alternative.”

The Fire District Commission continues to investigate the possibility of obtaining used equipment, but has to date been unsuccessful in its search. On the other hand, “the cost of a new pumper truck is in the vicinity of $900,000.00 and [it] would take three years to build,” Hoskins noted. “Therefore, the creation of a capital reserve account is essential.”

“The Fire District Commissioners, as the elected governing body, is responsible for fire protection and prudent use of taxpayer money within the Fly Creek District,” Hoskins added, “and the best way to fulfill that obligation is to establish formal funds dedicated to that purpose.”

“The fire district presently has certificates of deposits totaling $381,000.00 which are designated for the purchase of firefighting equipment,” Hoskins explained, “but even though those funds have an intended designation, they remain unrestricted. By creating capital reserve funds, the monies become legally obligated to be used as described in the capital reserve fund document.”

Establishing a capital reserve account, as opposed to designation of unrestricted funds, is in accord with the guidelines established by the New York State Comptroller. Those guidelines state that no more than 20 percent of the budget be in unrestricted funds. Furthermore, reserve funds, according to the comptroller’s office, represent a discipline to use the funds for which the capital reserve fund is created and is a prudent practice to protect those funds. Also creation of the funds will ease the budgetary problem of saving for the capital cost.

Hoskins explained that once the three capital funds are established, the Board will propose that $175,000.00 from the CDs will be transferred into each of the fire truck funds, and the remainder will be taken from the general funds and transferred to the building capital fund and the repair capital fund.

Three prior resolutions to establish similar capital reserve funds had been voted down by fire district voters in December 2022. The prevailing argument in opposition to the resolutions was that they impeded on the discretion in allocating the funds. However that was a contentious period of time for the Fire District, Hoskins said, and he is convinced that the defeat of those resolutions was due to their being victims of general voter dissatisfaction at the time. It is his belief that greater disclosure of the concept underlying the capital reserve funds, and the passage of time, will allow the resolutions to viewed more dispassionately by district residents.