BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Budget sessions being held by the village of Massena are raising questions about expenses in some departments, in particular with the Massena Volunteer Emergency Unit.

Trustees agreed to approve the budget as was presented to the board, however Village Administrator Monique Chatland said it may be worthwhile to "have an open dialogue" with the department regarding expenses.

Village officials took control of MVEU from the town of Massena in 2022 in a move to consolidate all emergency services departments under the village. Town officials also commented at the time that the transition would ease the financial burden for the town.

When breaking down the finances of the department, Chatland said some expenses seem to be higher than necessary and could possibly be lowered by shopping around for better deals.

"So, what is actually considered recruitment and retention," Chatland asked.

"Anything that helps recruit new volunteers, anything that retains the current members," Paquin said.

Trustee Ken McGowan commented that he was unaware if the volunteer fire department had leads on new volunteers in recent weeks but said the rescue squad had five potential members who were interested with the new EMT program being offered at Clarkson University.

"I can attest that's where I got my start but we've seen a rise in (call) numbers.

"It's a tough job. It's tough to be a member there. You're in an EMT class for five months. It's a full semester of college," Foreman Aaron Hardy said.

"With the number of hours you're expected to volunteer, you're pulling night shifts. I did my two years and I got a job and moved out of the area. I kept my EMT (certification) but there's a high burnout rate, it's a very high rate," McGowan said.

Chatland said she understood the difficulty of the job and the need to take care of volunteers but said expenses should be discussed. 

"I just think that, and this is no disrespect to you or anyone else, but the expenses really need to be reigned in over there. I know recruiting and retention is a priority and we want to keep people there but the expenses are crazy," she said.

"I don't disagree but if we had to pay and continually pay for professional paramedic staff, then you'd really see some expenses," Mayor Greg Paquin commented.

Chatland touched on some of the expenses in recent years, including five new chairs, three ottomans, six twin size memory foam mattresses, six twin box springs and six box springs, along with a new couch and better refrigerator.

"I can understand we have got to watch expenses, I get that 100%. But the furniture items were not good. It's not different from our volunteer firefighters. It's like a second home, not really a home, but it's that you want them around," McGowan said.

"I get that. I mean, has anyone had a conversation with them about controlling their expenses at all? It is worth just somebody doing that," Chatland reiterated.

Chatland also touched on previous expenses that were cut that possibly should have been kept, like a cleaning service.

“I'd rather have that than some of the other things that they get. That's really a sanitary thing," she said.

Major expenses for the department include equipment, personal protection and billing services.

When asked about the expense for billing, Hardy commented that each form is $35.

"So if we answer 3,000 calls, you're talking $90,000 per year," he said.

Chatland told trustees it was frustrating to see expenses rise as department heads cut back to bare bones budgets to continue to offer services.

"It's frustrating for someone like (Fire Foreman) Aaron (Hardy), who nickels and dimes and does such a great job getting the other expenses down that we've seen.”

"Carpets aren't what keep people coming back though," Hardy commented.

Though many purchases are contractual with MVEU, Paquin added that he and Deputy Mayor Chad Simpson have also overseen the other purchases by the department and approved them before moving forward.

One example brought up was a $40 purchase for toilet brushes.

"Trust me, I went over there myself to see what the heck was going on. It was a pack of brushes but after that happened I wanted to see," Hardy said.

Hardy also informed trustees that both the rescue squad and fire department have also "been shopping around like crazy" trying to reduce costs on everything.

"Yeah, you definitely see some of those things and it's definitely a good dialogue to have," Treasurer Kevin Felt said.

Despite the discussion, trustees did not modify the mayor’s budget proposal.