A letter to the residents of Cavendish Fire District 2

Dear Editor,

Cavendish Fire District 2’s mission is to maintain a functioning and responsive Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department that is able to address the various hazards and emergencies that may happen in our coverage area and to assist in the surrounding mutual aid towns.

In order to do this, the district manages the finances as approved at the annual meeting, providing appropriate resources and keeping them secure, housed, and maintained for long-term use. The district expects the fire chief and officers to maintain all the necessary certifications through training and expects them to set policies and guidelines to ensure the safety of its firefighters and medical responders. In addition, the fire chief is responsible for keeping communication channels open to neighboring mutual aid departments, ensuring resource coordination.

In the past year, Chief Rebecca Nareau has actively pursued the department gaining licensure as a non-transport emergency medical responder – Rescue Squad. She has been successful in this endeavor. This pursuit has been driven by the fact that the majority of our calls are medical in nature.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis and the ability of people to work from home remotely via the internet, Cavendish and many other towns in Vermont have seen a significant influx of citizens from out of state. Fortunately, our call volume this year has decreased slightly. However, there is a logical assumption that with an increase in population, demand for fire and emergency services may increase over time.

The district has always stayed within its modest budget. It is a small fraction of the overall property tax expense – just about 4%. The state’s educational property tax burden continues to increase at an accelerated rate putting ever more strain on homeowners and business. In light of this, the district is striving to present a budget that is respectful of the financial stress taxpayers are experiencing.

We thank the taxpayers for their continued support. This year’s meeting was postponed due to the meeting size restrictions imposed by the state of Vermont. The rescheduled meeting date is Tuesday, June 15 at 7 p.m. at the Cavendish Town Office. If Covid restrictions are still in place, we will move the meeting to the larger space in the fire station across the street.

Sincerely,

Stu Lindberg, Cavendish Fire District 2 Chairperson

Bob Evens, Committee member

Scott Ranney, Committee member

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