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10/18/2023 08:00 AMSince entering office four years ago, I’ve had the great honor of working closely with our volunteer firefighters as we tackled many town-wide emergencies. Quickly, I came to appreciate what a talented, dedicated group of volunteers we have who provide us with such a high degree of professional, life-saving services. In 2020, I met with senior members of both departments to discuss ways to improve firefighter benefits, which included a fixed tax abatement and retiree pension in recognition of their service. Notably, these benefits had not been updated in over 30 years, too often overlooked by previous administrations.
Working closely with both fire companies these last four years, the boards of selectmen and finance approved two benefit enhancements with unanimous, bipartisan support, followed by Town meeting approvals. In 2021, we approved an increase of 50% to the firefighter’s annual property tax abatement and enabled non-property owners to receive a payment in lieu. In 2022, we worked collaboratively again to approve an increase of approximately 100% to retiree pension benefits, phasing them in over the next ten years. In 2023, after consulting with our pension advisors, we developed a bipartisan funding plan to ensure the Town meets our future obligations. This included two appropriations totaling $1.2 million into the firefighter fund and a reserve account of $135,000 to assist the budget. All future funding will be reviewed annually by an actuarial firm as part of the budgeting process and adjusted accordingly. Rest assured, all Madison’s pension plans are appropriately funded and monitored on a quarterly basis by a bi-partisan pension review board that includes members of both fire departments.
I am gratified we finally delivered long overdue benefit improvements to our firefighters. More importantly, I am grateful Madison continues to have such a dedicated group of volunteers to protect our Town.
Peggy Lyons
Madison