Edgecomb Selectmen Hear Case for Full-Time Fire Chief

Representatives from the Edgecomb Fire Department met with the board of selectmen Monday, March 23 to present their case for a full-time fire chief.

While the fire department spoke of the need for a full-time chief, the logistics of transforming a stipend position to a full-time position with a salary and benefit package were unknown to both selectmen and fire department personnel.

If selectmen are able to hammer out the details of the position with the fire department, the proposal must be approved by voters at town meeting. Whether the proposal will be complete in time for Edgecomb’s May town meeting and whether voters will support it remains to be seen.

According to selectmen and budget committee members, Edgecomb is already facing another increase in property taxes.

Assistant Chief John Potter, former fire chief Tom Trowbridge, and Capt. Stephen Fenton, joined Fire Chief Roy Potter to outline their need for a full-time chief. Trowbridge has been involved with the Edgecomb Fire Department for nearly 40 years.

In his time with the fire department, Trowbridge said, he has seen the volunteer fire department, “regulated to the point of non-existence.” Potter estimated nearly 2,067 hours a year are spent purely on administration.

The number does not include the approximately 239 calls the fire department and first responder unit received in 2014.

Members of the fire department frequently complain they spend the majority of their time on equipment checks, Potter said.

When asked by selectmen how a full-time fire chief would address the lack of manpower, Potter said he would be able to recruit more volunteers if their time was spent training and in the field. If given full-time status, Potter said, he would be able to complete the majority of the administrative work.

In response to questions about proposals for regionalized fire services, Potter said the town would see a significant increase in liability and costs in a regional fire service arrangement.

Selectmen agreed to check with the Maine Municipal Association about the process of adding a full-time position to the municipal payroll. The salary and benefit package for the position, who will fill in for vacations and sick days, and the hiring process the town would follow for the position will be discussed at the next selectmen’s meeting.

Selectmen Chair Jack Sarmanian said the town would have to advertise and follow an open hiring process if they created a full-time position. According to Trowbridge, the town made an agreement when they took over the volunteer fire department to let fire department members chose their chief.

“This is one of those things everyone would like to see,” Selectman Jessica Chubbuck said. “Whether it will pass with the budget, I’m not sure.”