Central Coventry Fire District files for bankruptcy

GOV. LINCOLN Chafee said that a state-appointed lawyer, Robert Flanders, and the receiver for the Central Coventry Fire District, Steven Hartford, filed a petition in Federal Bankruptcy Court to start Chapter 9 restructuring proceedings for the Central Coventry Fire District. / PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
GOV. LINCOLN Chafee said that a state-appointed lawyer, Robert Flanders, and the receiver for the Central Coventry Fire District, Steven Hartford, filed a petition in Federal Bankruptcy Court to start Chapter 9 restructuring proceedings for the Central Coventry Fire District. / PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

COVENTRY – The beleaguered Central Coventry Fire District filed for bankruptcy Tuesday after firefighters and the Chafee administration failed to reach an agreement despite months of negotiations to fix the district’s financial woes.

Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, in a statement issued Tuesday, said that a state-appointed lawyer, Robert G. Flanders Jr., and the receiver for the Central Coventry Fire District, Steven Hartford, filed a petition in Federal Bankruptcy Court to start Chapter 9 restructuring proceedings for the Central Coventry Fire District.

“This is an unfortunate step. Short of an agreement with the Firefighters Union and restructuring the district’s other debts, bankruptcy is the only tool left to us to finally set the fiscal ship of the Central Coventry Fire District on the right course. I fully expect the district to emerge from the bankruptcy with a reorganized and downsized operation that can pay back its debts and maintain a proper fire and rescue service, as well as assure tax stabilization for the residents,” Chafee said.

He continued, “For about a year and a half, we have brought both sides – the Central Coventry Fire District and firefighting staff members – together to reconcile their differences. My administration has offered assistance, initiated back-and-forth discussion, and suggested and requested options.”

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Chafee said that the cost of the fire district “has risen beyond the willingness of the taxpayers to pay, and now bankruptcy is the only means available to restructure the district’s operations and obligations to restore it to fiscal solvency and stability for the future.”

Chafee said his objective is to conclude the bankruptcy proceeding as soon as possible and obtain a confirmed plan to provide the district with a balanced budget going forward.

According to the bankruptcy filing, the fire district’s structural deficit is “so large that even a [50] percent increase in taxes would not generate enough revenue to solve the District’s financial problems.”

Projected personnel expenses under the current collective bargaining agreement are estimated to be $6,431,551 in fiscal year 2015, while the District’s projected revenues for fiscal year 2015 are estimated to be only $5,823,800, the filing reads.

David Gorman, president of the IAFF Local 3372 firefighters union in Coventry, told WPRI-TV CBS 12 that he was disappointed Chafee administration officials chose to file for bankruptcy so close to Christmas.

“Bankruptcy is not exactly in the Christmas spirit,” he said in a statement.
Gorman said that filing for bankruptcy “will jeopardize public safety even further. We’re down to just 31 firefighters from 52, and to two stations from five.”

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