Albion and Gaines both approve joint fire district in low-turnout vote

Photo by Tom Rivers: Orleans County election commissioners Mike Mele and Janice Grabowski review results from today’s vote for a joint fire district in Albion and Gaines. Mele and Grabowski reviewed the tapes from the machines for both towns and signed off on the results.

ALBION – Voters in both the towns of Albion and Gaines approved a joint fire district in a referendum today.

The turnout was low, and both towns passed the district by about a 2-to-1 margin. Albion voted 125 yes, 61 no, while the results in Gaines were 70 yes, 43 no.

In Albion, 186 voted out of 3,798 registered voters or 4.9 percent. In Gaines, 5.4 percent voted or 113 out of 2,083 eligible.

The new fire district should become official on Jan. 1, with the Albion Fire Department moving out of the village budget and into its own governing structure with five commissioners. The district will also have its own tax rate that will be in the town and county tax bills.

Five commissioners will be appointed to the district until there is an election in December. The Albion Village Board has one commissioner to appoint, while the Town Boards in Albion and Gianes each have two appointments.

The Village Board has appointed Dave Buczek, a former village trustee, to be the village representative. The Albion and Gaines tow boards are expected to discuss their appointments for commissioner during their board meetings on Monday.

Albion and Gaines follow Lyndonville and Yates, and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and Holley which have moved their fire protection to fire districts.

Albion and Gaines officials say the district will allow commissioners to be focused on the needs for fire protection while also being directly responsible to taxpayers. Right now the Village Board sets the fire department budget as part of the village budget, with the two towns paying a fire protection contract to the village.