ATHOL — Residents voted Monday to appropriate through taxes $12,000 for firefighter salaries as part of an arbitration settlement.
Ken Duffy, chairman of the Athol Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee, was the only member of his committee to vote against recommending the article and he took to the podium in the front of Memorial Hall to explain his reasons.
He said the $12,000 for firefighter salaries consists of $1,000 in compensation for 12 firefighters certified in emergency medical dispatch service who have been relieved of dispatching duties because emergency medical calls are now taken at the Police Department. But he said this is not a one-time payment, but rather a yearly obligation that will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. He also said this will apply to any future firefighters who were never responsible for dispatching.
The article in question also included $42,000 to the Police Department for dispatcher salaries.
Another article pertained to a transfer of $25,000 from the capital stabilization fund to finance expenses associated with centralizing the three dispatch functions, part of a compromise with the state 911 Department after the town backed out of an intermunicipal agreement to consolidate Athol police and fire dispatch with that of Gardner and operate in a regional emergency communication center in the new Gardner police station.
Townspeople also adopted an article to amend language in the town’s personnel bylaws to state that minimum wage is the lowest a part-time dispatcher can be paid and the maximum compensation is the Step 1 Dispatcher Rate ($18.80 per hour) set by the collective bargaining agreement.