Hudson - Litchfield News December 23, 2010 - 3


HFD Chief Offers 4 Proposals to Cut $100k from Budget


by Doug Robinson After much debate and differences of opinion, Hudson Fire Chief Shawn Murray proposed four different budget cut scenarios for the Hudson Selectman to review. The budget cuts came at the request of the Hudson Selectman while reviewing the Fire Department’s 2012 budget. At the November meeting, Murray stated that he would be able to cut the budget, however at the Budget Committee review of his budget, he changed his story 180 degrees. At first, Selectmen were requesting budget cuts within his Administrative Salary line, then reconsidered and asked the Chief to cut $100 from within his entire budget. The Fire Chief produced four plans,


which he labeled Plan A, B, C, and D. Plan A proposed that Warrant


Article A be eliminated. This Warrant Article involved the purchase of replacement defibrillators, reduce the fiber optic plan, and eliminate funding for Captain/Lieutenant Tests. “This plan will maintain the current level of services provided to the Town of Hudson,” stated Murray. Selectman rejected this plan commenting that the defibrillators were not in the HFD budget, thus, he was not reducing his budget.


Plan B suggested that $100k be cut from the Fire Apparatus Capital Reserve, Fire Apparatus Repair/Refer Capital Reserve and Ambulance Replacement Capital Reserve. Selectmen rejected this proposal stating that as the money deposited into the Capital Reserve Accounts would have to be paid back sometime, thus not realizing a real savings.


Road Station Firefighters. When pressed by Selectmen as to


Chief Shawn Murray refers to his notes during budget talks with the


Selectman, while Executive Secretary Torrey Demanche looks on.


Plan D, was also rejected. Here, the Chief suggested that the $100k savings would come from Training, Fire Alarm Tech, EMT, Uniform Call Force, Emergency Management, and Benefit Adjustment and by adjusting Robinson


what he meant by Robinson Road Station Firefighter adjustment, Murray stated that the Fire Station would not be staffed up to fifty percent of the time. In his proposal, Chief Murray stated, “This plan will have significant impact on the current level of services provided to the Town of Hudson.” The impact of the staffing changes at Robinson Road would have been $92,440 of the requested $100k budget reduction.


Selectmen voted 4 to 1 (Maddox against) to accept Plan C. Paramedic school overtime, the purchase of a thermal imager camera, training, outside instructors, carpet and air conditioning, EMS coordinator pay and benefits, secretary overtime, and pay and benefit savings from the hiring of


HPD Dare Truck: Bigger and Bolder


by Doug Robinson The Hudson Police Department’s (HPD) new D.A.R.E. Truck is bigger and bolder. Having recently returned from being outfitted and painted, the D.A.R.E. Truck will soon be on the roads of Hudson


for all to enjoy and experience. The Chevy Tahoe truck was confiscated during a drug bust by the HPD and then “awarded to the Town of Hudson by the judge, at no cost to the town,” commented Police Chief Jason Lavoie. Lights of red and green highlight the interior of the cab, while blue lights line the undercarriage of the truck. The lights have the ability to be integrated with the music, which can be heard from the specially installed speakers. Decals of the American Flag, and “Darren,” the D.A.R.E. mascot have been applied to the truck. “D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program has been in place in Hudson schools since 1988. Currently, all fourth grade students attend a five-week program, which is an introduction to the curriculum they will complete in the fifth grade. Fifth grade students participate in a 17-week D.A.R.E. program. This curriculum teaches students peer pressure techniques; self esteem building, self-management skills, and decision making concerning personal safety and respect for others. Seventh grade students participate in a 10-lesson D.A.R.E. program, which is designed as a follow-up to the fifth grade program. The junior high curriculum focuses on violence prevention and the six universally accepted character traits: respect, caring, fairness, trustworthiness, responsibility and being a good citizen” states the HPD.


Fire Engine 4 Receives Clean Bill of Health


by Doug Robinson Since the purchase of the KME Engine 4 fire truck for approximately $330,000 in 2006, it has sat idle in excess of 18 percent of its time as a service engine to the town of Hudson. During the month of October and much of November, it sat idle at Central until a third party investigated the claims by firefighters that the truck was a “lemon.” Firefighters had repeatedly referred to the truck as a “lemon” and many letters of concern have been sent to the Chief as far back as 2007 with regards to its safety. The out-of- service record for Engine 4 would equal one day out of every week served that the truck was not available to service the residents of Hudson. The issue involved the cab latch mechanism that secured the cab to the chassis, which would prevent the cab from rising during operation of the vehicle. A warning light would illuminate and an unusual mechanical noise had been documented by the firefighters since 2007 regarding the problem. While many alterations had been done to eliminate the noise and cab latch issue, none seem to have worked by the manufacturer. “At the request of Fire Chief Shawn Murray, I had the opportunity to inspect the Hudson Fire Department’s Engine 4 … as it applies to repairs performed by Bulldog Fire Apparatus on the cab latch system,” writes Allen Burnham, President of FEMCO Fire and Emergency Maintenance Company. As a result of the vehicles mechanical uncertainty, the Board of Selectmen instructed Chief Murray to keep the engine out of service until a third party had investigated the firefighters’ concerns and determine the safety of the truck by the third party. According to the maintenance report, which had been provided


by the Chief, this was the “final report” for Engine 4. Modifications to the latching “toggle switch” controls were made to make sure that the proper operation of this device would work properly to the “bleeding” of the hydraulic mechanisms. To facilitate this failure, at the request of Fire and Emergency Maintenance, Bulldog “mounted an interlock relay that will allow the hydraulic


HPD Collects Over 1,000 Toys for Toys for Tots


by Doug Robinson The Hudson Police Department collected over 1,000 toys, which will be given to the United States Marines Corps Toys for Tots program. These toys will then be gifted to needy families throughout Hudson and the surrounding communities. Collection boxes were set up at all the Hudson schools, Town Hall,


Library, the Police Station, as well as Wal-Mart. “The public was very generous with their gifts,” commented Hudson Police Officer Jim Stys.


Several vans and trucks were needed to collect the toys as an on- going process to keep more room in the collection bins available for more toys.


New and unwrapped toys were donated for the needed. Those


needy children who have asked Santa for that new bike or that new doll will be receiving that precious gift on Christmas morning, thanks to the generosity of those who gave, but also to officers and civilians the Hudson Police Department.


“It’s all for the kids,” continued Chief Lavoie. “In addition to


having the truck awarded to the town free of charge, we also applied and received a Federal JAG grant to complete this project.”


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system to bleed down … regardless in which position the switch is left.”


After another road test to verify that the banging of the cab had been eliminated, Burnham stated that “with the exception of a few noted items, this pumper is in perfectly good working order. All the repairs, modifications, and upgrades were performed in accordance with best practices as indicated by the manufacturer.” Selectman Richard Maddox suggested that the Board review the performance of Engine 4 again in three months.


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new employees were the area’s to be affected.


Chief Murray also included elimination of the part time custodian, $4,172, but the Selectmen stated that these were “shared expenses” and that the elimination of this line would not reduce the budget. “This plan will alter the current


level of services through a reduction in operational lines and part time positions, however it maintains the current level of Command Staff” states Murray.


Selectman Maddox stated that


he believes that the budget cuts in the department should be in the Administrative Salary (referred to as line 101) line and that is why he could not vote for the approval of Plan C.


Volunteers surround the mountain of new toys which were being loaded up to be taken to the United States Marines Toys for Tots Center in Londonderry on December 18.


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