- By Dan Veaner
- News
Print 
Kimberly Spencer
That leaves a three year and four month hole in the district, which seats five commissioners, each for a five year term, and a treasurer. One seat is open for election each year. Spencer began serving in January of 2007. "She's got three more years on her term," explained Chairman Wagner. "In December there will be two seats up for election, my position and a three year position to finish her term. If we appointed someone they could only serve until the end of this year before we had to take it to a vote anyways."
Wagner says they will try to gauge interest at the next Lansing Fire Department meeting, and if a viable candidate steps forward they may or may not appoint that person for the rest of this year. Voters will have to approve a candidate for the rest of the three year term in the December election. He said that he plans to run for another term.
That poses a challenge for the current commissioners, because it is difficult to get people to run. "It's not that much of a time commitment," he says. "But it is tough to find anyone that wants to run. I think a board really should have some people with firematic knowledge, and people from outside the department to provide checks and balances. We try, but nobody runs."
In that he echoes Lansing School Superintendent Stephen Grimm, who says that he wishes more people would run for school board positions. But Wagner notes that the time commitment for fire commissioners is not as onerous as a school board position is. Commissioners participate in two meetings per month, an annual budget hearing, some training, office hours for the Secretary and Treasurer, and some other duties such as inspecting the district's four fire stations.
That is not to say that being a fire commissioner is a serious responsibility. Commissioners are responsible for a multi-million dollar operation that is subject to strict regulations. The fire department, a separate entity, is responsible to the commissioners, with the Fire Chief Scott Purcell reporting directly to them.
"Every time commissioners are elected they have to go to a training session," District Secretary Parker says. "The responsibility is the same as being a town board member. You are an official of a municipal entity that levies taxes to operate the fire department."
"We're under more scrutiny," Wagner adds. "The state comptroller is looking at the school districts and all the fire districts. You have got to be careful to cross your Ts and dot your Is."
Wagner says that commissioners go to two conferences per year. In the Fall they attend the Association of Tire Districts of the State of New York Education Conference and Expo, which includes training for commissioners and in the Spring they attend a training conference.
"I think a lot of townspeople don't know that anybody can run," Wagner says. "You have to be a resident of the district and it is an elected position."
In other news commissioners voted to accept an offer for ten acres owned by the Fire District in the Village of Lansing. Parker said that the district received two offers for the ten acre parcel made up of two five acre lots. The offers were for $185,000 and $140,000. The board voted to accept the higher offer.
The purchaser is Murray Estates, Inc., which owns the Sundowns Farm property in the village. That property adjoins the two lots. The Tompkins County Department of Assessment values each of the 5 acre parcels at $125,000 fair market value. But District Treasurer George Gesslein says the valuation was much too high, because while the county lists the properties as sewered, they actually are not.
----
v4i31