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The Pine Grove Fire Expansion would be SIMPLY THE BEST!    And IT WILL PASS one way or another!

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Mertz aka Cicero, although common sense arguments and REAL NEEDS will not change your mind from its warped way of thinking ---  Pine Grove does have a very unsafe and very decrepit 25+ year old fire engine that will need to be replaced in the VERY near future.
Furthermore - Pine Grove Fire Department serves MORE THAN Rotterdam -- it serves many fin families and businesses in Guilderland and Princetown....All three municipalities it serves have seen considerable growth in residential housing units in the past 30 years and in commercial properties and they WILL CERTAINLY SEE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH WITH THE RE-UNITE ROTTERDAM TEAM IN OFFICE ..
This is NEEDED NOW to meet the SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM NEEDS IN ORDER TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE...Planning for future needs is part of good government.    The Nayboobs will NEVER FIGURE OUT HOW TO GOVERN AND MEET THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS...

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Fire protection in New York State is complex, with many options. Fire protection may be provided directly by a municipality, arranged under contract with a municipality, or provided by an independently governed fire district. Fire departments may have all-paid or “career” members, all-volunteer, or a combination of paid employees and volunteer members. Firefighters may work for a municipal fire department, be appointed as fire department members by fire district commissioners, or be members of a not-for-profit fire corporation.
This brief provides an overview of the fire protection options available in New York State, and answers some common questions about fire protection.
How is fire protection provided in your municipality?
Cities are required to provide fire protection. It is typically provided through a municipal fire department which may have paid and/or volunteer firefighters. According to the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY), 42 cities have all or mostly paid fire departments, while 17 are all or mostly volunteer departments. Paid firefighters are commonly known as “career” firefighters. According to a 2003 FASNY report, the median wage, benefits and overtime payment for a full-time firefighter statewide (excluding NYC) was $57,278. Examples range from $49,764 in the North Country to $101,702 on Long Island.
Villages must also provide fire protection. A village may (a) have its own fire department, (b) contract with the fire department of another municipality, (c) contract with a fire district, or (d) form a joint fire district with a town and other villages. Where villages have fire departments, they may also have career, volunteer, or a mix of both types of firefighters. While the reported numbers of combination fire departments vary, most seem to be located in Monroe and Westchester Counties. In Monroe County, which has 10 combination departments, nearly one third of those departments’ members are career firefighters.
State law does not allow towns to provide their residents with fire protection as a municipal function. Instead, fire protection is provided either by a fire district or through creation of a fire protection district.
There are about 1,850 fire suppression or prevention organizations and over 114,000 firefighters in the state, including over 96,000 volunteer firefighters.
The fire district system was established in the 1932, by the State Legislature as a means of insuring adequate fire protection throughout the state. Some 800 fire districts were established, primarily around the existing volunteer companies, which were originally established to protect rural villages with horse drawn apparatus.
Robert H. Fickies, Commissioner, Averill Park & Sand Lake Fire District No. 2
Is the number of volunteer firefighters declining?
The number of volunteer firefighters has declined by 15,000 in the past 20 years. There is also a decline in availability of volunteer firefighters, particularly in the area of emergency medical services. More and more fire districts are employing paid drivers or station masters to respond to calls during the day. While there is uncertainty about the numbers of departments with both career and volunteer firefighters, the Office of Fire Prevention and Control has a list of 40 combined fire departments, including the Fredonia Fire Department with 6 career and 130 volunteer firefighters, and the Ridge Road Fire Department in Monroe County with 50 career and 4 volunteer firefighters.
To address the decline in volunteers, the Legislature has enacted various incentive programs, such as property tax credits and the firefighter length of service award program (LOSAP) – essentially a pension-like program for volunteers. These incentive programs are offered at local option. Local LOSAPs must be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, with the results reported to the State Comptroller. The state now offers a $200 income tax credit for active volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps members.
What is

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These incentive programs are offered at local option. Local LOSAPs must be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, with the results reported to the State Comptroller. The state now offers a $200 income tax credit for active volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps members

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Who elects fire commissioners?
The residents of a fire district who are registered to vote may cast their ballot for commissioners in a fire district election which is held the second Tuesday of December (with limited exception). Unfortunately, few people other than friends and families of firefighters cast votes in fire district elections.
In the spring of 2007, Commission staff conducted an informal survey of participation in 2006 fire district elections. They sampled 20 town clerks in 17 counties whose jurisdictions included 62 fire districts and found that over 25% of those fire districts failed to file election results with the clerks. Of those reporting, it was found that most had fewer than 100 people voting, and in 18 out of 44 districts fewer than 50 people cast votes.
While participation in fire district elections was minimal, there were some anomalies in the voting totals for some rural towns. For example, in the Town of Greenfield (Saratoga County), 414 people cast ballots in the election for fire commissioners. However, this election followed the defeat a few months earlier of a proposition to purchase two ladder trucks (590 votes cast) and a candidate was challenging the incumbent who had been championing the purchase of the fire trucks.
Four of the districts in which the most votes were cast were in the Town of Huntington, population 195,289. The number of people voting in all of the Huntington fire districts was 2573 out of a total electorate of 125,692, or two percent of the electorate.
What is a fire protection district?
Although the term “fire protection district” is similar to “fire district,” they represent very different ways of managing fire protection. While a fire district is a separate unit of government, run by elected commissioners; a fire protection district is a geographic service area within a town, established for the purpose of fire protection. Towns contract for fire protection services within these districts at the expense of the property owners in that district. The contract may be with a city or village fire department, a fire district, or an independent fire company.
A town board can create a fire protection district, consolidate adjoining fire protection districts, alter the boundaries of a fire protection district, or dissolve a fire protection district on its own motion or by petition. There are 951 fire protection districts in the state, down from 1,015 in 1988.
Contracts between a town and a fire protection district vary in detail; some simply name a price for protection. The trend is for town boards to convert fire protection districts to
Fire District Commissioner

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How is fire protection financed?
In cities and villages, general municipal tax levies support fire protection. In areas of the town served by fire protection districts, the town levies property tax.
A fire district has the power both to incur indebtedness and to require the levy of taxes. Fire district taxes are assessed against the taxable properties within the district and levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as town taxes. Towns collect fire district taxes and distribute them to fire districts. These funds may be used to purchase buildings, equipment, and insurance, as well as pay for firefighter training. They may also pay for annual inspection dinners and refreshments served after meetings and emergencies.
Fire districts get over 90% of their revenue from property taxes. Total revenues raised by fire districts have increased 61% from 1995 to 2005, with an average annual increase of 4.9 percent, as reported in the Financial Report on Fire Districts.
In addition to funds raised through taxes, there are two other main sources of funding. The first is funds that are donated to a fire department, such as through coin drops or other charitable fund-raising activities or paid in exchange for facility rentals or special services. The second source is a tax on certain fire insurance policies written by out-of-state insurance companies. Foreign insurance companies contribute two percent of the fire premiums written on property located in the state to be distributed to the fire departments and fire districts statewide. Fire insurance money - $43 million in 2007 - must be used for the benefit of the fire department and its fire companies, as determined by the members. For example, fire insurance funds may be used to purchase dress uniforms, turn out gear, and office equipment; and to pay for installation banquets and holiday parties. However, those funds may not be used to fund a length of service award program, and members may not be compelled to use these monies to defray ordinary operating expenses of the fire department. (A portion of the tax is also used for the support and maintenance of the firemen's home at Hudson, New York.)
Other sources of funding include federal assistance, state grants, county subsidies, and tax-exempt bonds.
How much is spent on fire protection?
Statewide, in 2006 $1.5 billion was spent on fire protection among counties (4% of total), cities (39%), towns (11%), villages (9%) and fire districts (37%). With such a large share of expenditures attributable to a relatively little-known unit of local government, this brief examines fire districts in more detail.
Fire districts, as autonomous units of government, report their expenditures directly to the Office of the State Comptroller. OSC reported that in 2006 fire districts spent $601.1 million for current operations, equipment and capital outlay, and debt service. Expenses for current operations were responsible for 64% of all spending in fire districts, with equipment and capital outlay (28%) and debt service (8%) making up the balance. This distribution of expenditures has been consistent over the past decade, and reflects the capital-intensive nature of fire protection and emergency medical services when largely provided through volunteer labor.
Does the town board have approval over a fire district budget?
No. Fire district budgets are determined by boards of commissioners, and inserted, unchanged, into town budgets. Fire districts prepare a proposed budget and discuss it at a public hearing on the third Tuesday in October. Notice requirements include publishing notice of the hearing in the newspaper and posting notice on the town sign board and district website, if one exists. The budget is submitted to the town on or before November 20 each year.
Are there any limits on how much a fire district may spend?
Yes, under State law fire districts are subject to a spending limit. The spending limit is $2,000 for the first $1 million of assessed valuation within the district, and $1,000 for each additional $1 million of assessed valuation. Some expenditures excluded from the cap, such as premiums required to cover firefighters injured in the line of duty; salaries of paid firefighters who supplement volunteer forces; service award program contributions; and most forms of debt service. The State Comptroller’s office is not aware of any districts at or near their limit.
Are concerns over the cost and provision of fire protection new?
No, the provision of fire service has been evolving for some time, and concerns about the way it has historically been provided have been ongoing. In 1984 the National Fire Protection Association reported in the Fire Almanac that:
Fire District Expenditures
For Fiscal Year Ending 2006
Operations (salaries, benefits and contractual expenditures)
$385.4 M
Equipment & Capital Outlays
$169.5 M
Debt Service – Principal
$ 34.4 M
Debt Service – Interest
$ 11.8 M
Total Expenditures

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U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 12 Nov 2011 at 05:29:24 PM GMT is:
$ 1 4 , 9 8 4 , 4 6 5 , 0 1 6 , 0 2 5 . 8 8

The estimated population of the United States is 311,659,622
so each citizen's share of this debt is $48,079.58.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.97 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
Concerned? Then tell Congress and the White House!