Randolph Has
Been Patient

In light of recent articles in the Herald I thought that it might be useful to your readers to have the following history and comments concerning the Randolph Fire Services contract with Braintree.

In the late 1980s, it came to the Randolph Selectboard’s attention (I was on that Randolph Selectboard) that Braintree was only paying a small amount ($5,000 per year at the time) for the fire protection that Braintree was receiving from Randolph. I don’t think that the small payment was anyone’s fault, that is just the way that things had evolved.

Once the Randolph Selectboard knew that, however, it was contingent upon our Selectboard to change the situation so that both Braintree and Randolph taxpayers were being taxed or assessed an equitable amount for the same fire protection. Since Randolph taxpayers pay for fire protection based on their property value, it made sense that Braintree taxpayers would do the same for the exact same fire protection.

The problem was that Braintree had been paying so little that anything that Randolph did to correct the situation would be a big jolt to Braintree. In order to make the transition easier for Braintree, the Randolph Selectboard at the time agreed to raise the charge to Braintree gradually. Raising it to 50% (of what a Randolph taxpayer would pay) and then to 70% over three years (1989-1991) started the process of bringing Braintree up to an equitable amount. The intent on the part of the Randolph Selectboard was to then continue this gradual increase until Braintree was at 100% (just like Randolph taxpayers are).

It was left at 70% during much of the 90s to give Braintree a chance to adjust to the higher charges as the costs of running a good fire department have continued to increase. The Randolph Selectboard of 2000 decided that it was time to continue the process of bringing Braintree’s payment up to 100%. After discussing it with the Braintree Selectboard, the plan was to increase the charge in 5% increments up to 100%. That plan was carried out between 2001 and 2006.

When Braintree was charged for the full 100% in 2006, someone in Braintree apparently decided that it was worthwhile to try to negotiate the charge back down again to save money. Those discussions have been going on intermittently ever since.

Now that both Towns are paying equal (equalized) tax rates for exactly the same fire protection, its time to accept that equity and move on. I have attended parts of the March Town Meetings in Braintree in both 2006 and 2007 and most of the taxpayers at both of those meetings seemed to agree with this. In fact, in 2006, there was a positive vote from the floor to pay the 100% amount. And the sentiment at the 2007 Braintree Town meeting from the voters on the floor seemed to be the same.

I believe that most of the taxpayers in Braintree feel the need for good fire protection and they realize that it is not cheap to provide.

My figures indicate that Braintree has saved more than $140,000 over the last 17 years as Randolph opted to slowly bring Braintree up to the 100% payment, rather than go to the 100% payment immediately in 1989. I think that Randolph has tried to be understanding and has shown good faith in that process.

Pat French

Randolph