“It appears we’re pretty close to resolving this issue … which is great,” Oakfield Village Mayor David Boyle told The Batavian on Wednesday afternoon.
Boyle said he has spoken on the telephone with Town Supervisor Matt Martin and, if all goes well as they finalize the details, he expects them to issue a joint statement in the near future – possibly by the end of the week.
The mayor said both the town and village boards have met in recent days to talk about the terms of a new fire protection agreement. However, he said he wasn’t prepared to provide any specifics at this point.
He did say that mediation by the fire department’s attorney, as suggested by Oakfield FD Chief Sean Downing, was not necessary, although he did appreciate Downing’s efforts in finding a solution to the dispute.
The situation became public in late September when the village board threatened to stop fire protection for town residents, including the Oakfield-Alabama School District, on Nov. 30 if the town did not pay a $78,648 bill for services rendered during the 2020-21 fiscal year that ended on May 31.
At that time, Boyle indicated that the town also had not paid for the first three months of this fiscal year, and felt the town was “holding the village hostage” in an attempt to renegotiate the shared services pact.
Fire trucks and equipment are owned by the village, which directs the OVFD. The building on Albert Street is owned by the fire department.
The current payment structure to cover operational and equipment costs stipulates that the village pays 42 percent and the town pays 58 percent. Boyle has said that when breaking that down by assessed valuation, village residents were charged $1.62 per $1,000 while town residents were charged 60 cents per $1,000.
The town board disputed those figures, and put out a statement that it wished to work toward “a fair and equitable fire agreement.”
As of mid-October, the village’s position was that the town pays the entire amount due to the village and signs a contract for this fiscal year (or a multi-year agreement) and then the village board would be open to exploring any changes.
The town, meanwhile, communicated on its website that it was seeking a three-year service contract only that would not include capital expenses because the village owns all the fire equipment.
Both Boyle and Martin previously said that the matter was being turned over to the village and town attorneys, respectively, who likely offered advice that has – according to Boyle – put them on the threshold of a deal.
Previously: Fire chief's suggestion of mediation may be the answer to ending stalemate between town, village boards
