10 commissioners in 2 Hamilton fire districts will see $2,000 pay cuts each in 2016.
HAMILTON -- The township council trimmed fire commissioners' salaries in two fire districts Tuesday and dipped into district surpluses to even out the budgets so taxpayers would not have to pay more in taxes.
Fire district budgets that are not approved by voters go before council for adjustments, and that occurred Tuesday for districts 2, 4 and 7.
Ultimately, the council hammered out resolutions for the three that would basically reduce their tax levy to the prior year's amount so residents would not see an increase.
And to do it in districts 4 and 7, council members sliced $2,000 off the annual salaries of the five commissioners in each district, for $10,000 savings in each district.
The moves come as the township is about to consider the possible consolidation of the nine fire districts that provide fire protection in the 40-square mile township of nearly 90,000 residents.
The February fire district elections, which have historically low turnout statewide, saw a significant spike in Hamilton this year, and council meetings that have the fire department on the agenda have seen an increase in firefighter attendance.
That occurred again Tuesday as numerous firefighters packed the meeting and broke into applause at times.
Discussion on the budgets spurred discussion on how much money is needed to run a fire department, to how many members should ride an engine company and ongoing overtime costs.
A good portion, however, centered on the commissioner salaries, including District 7's Fred Zauner, who collects $30,000 annually, while most other commissioners make anywhere from $5,000 to about $12,000.
"Thank you for having the guts to cut their salaries," said Frank Gillespie, a recently-retired township firefighter. "They wouldn't have done it," he said, referring to District 7.
Voters reject 3 fire district budgets
Jason Ryan, a fire captain in District 2, said he was "appalled" at Zauner's salary.
"It's a scam," resident Vinnie Capodanno said of the commissioner salaries, drawing applause.
Capodanno said a small salary for a commissioner's time spent doing administrative work is one thing, but he noted that school board members do basically the same job for free.
"They should be doing it because they love the fireman and for the township," he said.
Reached for comment Wednesday, Zauner reiterated his earlier comments that he performs extra duties that normally are done by a bookkeeper, accountant and full-time fire chief, and he is compensated for those duties.
After other firefighters spoke, Council President Ileana Schirmer said they were all good points and highlight's the benefits of consolidation, which the council backs.
"Do we need 45 commissioners? No. Do we need fire district consolidation? Yes," she said.
In other fire news at the meeting, firefighters' union presidents Mike Kiernan and Nick Buroczi said the petitions to consolidate the unions have been collecting from residents will be delivered to council this week.
Also in the mix is an ongoing state Department of Community Affairs study on the township fire service that Mayor Kelly Yaede arranged in October.
In response to a question from resident Joanne Bruno, council members said if they see it, they will add it to the discussion.
But if they do not see it soon, "I am not inclined to wait for it," Councilman Ed Gore said.
When the petitions are handed in and certified by the township clerk, the council can start scheduling public meetings on consolidation, and Gore said that will happen shortly after.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.