PORTSMOUTH — Prudence Island residents flooded Town Hall Wednesday night, demanding the Town Council restore about $80,000 in requested funding for its volunteer fire department they said is needed to maintain a proper level of public safety on the island.

By the time the roomful of islanders left the annual budget hearing for Bristol to catch the 9 p.m. ferry home, however, they had no guarantee that council members would change their minds. While a few councilors said they would look for savings elsewhere in the budget in hopes of restoring a portion of the requested funding to the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department (PIVFD), no formal pledge was made. The council adopts a final budget on June 24.

In recent years the town’s annual budget hearing has become a fairly staid affair, with only a handful of residents in attendance and the council flying through line items in under an hour. Wednesday’s hearing — moved from the middle school auditorium to Town Hall, ironically, because of such poorly attended meetings in the past — was far different. 

So many Prudence residents came to talk about the PIVFD funding request, in fact, that roughly 90 minutes of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting focused on a line item representing less than 0.3 percent of the proposed $64.88 million municipal budget for 2019-2020.

Since it’s not considered to be a town department, PIVFD funding falls under the “civic support” portion of the budget along with the senior center, the library, and a few other organizations (more about that later). For fiscal year 2020, Prudence Fire Chief Bob Dragon requested $250,870 in civic support for PIVFD, which represents a 48.6-percent hike over the current allocation of $168,800.

Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr., however, recommended $170,540 — about 1 percent more than the current allocation, but $80,330 less than what Chief Dragon had asked for.

Emotions often ran high as islanders pleaded with the council to restore the requested funding, which they said is needed for EMT training, portable radios, repairs to old vehicles and more.

‘You guys should be ashamed of yourselves,” Wendy Juchnevics-Freeman, who lives on Pier Road on Prudence, told the council, She said “the self-sufficiency and Yankee ingenuity the Prudence Island Fire Department has shown is amazing,” but it needs more financial help to ensure an adequate level of public safety.

“When you walk into that building and you see a 1970s fire truck, you will know that’s not adequate,” Ms. Juchnevics-Freeman said.

Matthew Allen, of Concord Avenue on the island, said PIVFD does not have enough certified EMTs due to inadequate funding. That means the “mainland” department often must assist, which severely lengthens the response time and puts patients at risk. A simple bee sting to a child could lead to fatal consequences, he said

“I will leave you with a question to ponder: $81,000 for 24/7 volunteer EMT and fire coverage, used or refurbished radios (not new), etc. Is that too much to save a child’s life?” Mr Allen said. “Post note: The Portsmouth Fire Department budget has increased $1.13 million since 2016, the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department, $27,000.”

His wife, Susan Allen, disputed the claim by some town leaders that the funding gap could be closed through grants. “Be assured that this has happened in the past few years, and in 2017 and 2018, the grants were denied. They do not give you a reason, but having done grants in the past, going up against professionally written grants is not easy,” she said.

‘Do your jobs’

Greg Gempp, a summer resident of Prudence Island for 44 years, a retired professional firefighter and a member of the PIVFD board of control, said the island can’t rely on the mainland department to always be there when needed. When Portsmouth firefighters get to Carnegie Marine to access a rescue boat, he said, “We have our hands on our patient.”

Added his wife, Jennifer Gempp, “If we don’t get this funding, I really would like to know how Portsmouth is going to cover our EMS and fire calls.”

Later in the meeting, Mr. Gempp was even more blunt. “I need people, I need the help. You better do your jobs,” he told council members in a raised voice, before accusing them of worrying more about parks and recreation than public safety.

“You think the recreation department or a fishing pier is more important than saving a life?” he said. “What’s the matter with you? A human life. We’re fighting for the island; we want our share.”

Council members took issue with allegations they are less concerned about public safety on Prudence than other issues in town. The council’s main goal is to support a budget for the entire town, not one than benefits a few groups of people, said council member Keith Hamilton. 

“To say we don’t have the best interests in the people of Prudence is just false,” he said.

Added Council Vice President Linda Ujifusa, “This is in no way a disrespectful gesture from the Town Council on your health and safety."

Ms. Ujifusa pointed out that every town department request has faced cuts, and that Mr. Rainer’s recommendation on the PIVFD allotment was carefully analyzed. “The school request alone was cut by over half a million dollars,” she said. “We have to balance sometimes the conflicting interests of every member of Portsmouth.”

‘Civic support’ disputed

The appropriateness of putting PIVFD under the “civic support” portion of the budget and not public safety was also debated during the hearing, with Ms. Juchnevics-Freeman calling it “ridiculous and insulting,” a viewpoint shared by several others.

Another island resident said the fact that PIVFD is “a 501c3 is not relevant to its purpose.” She said the line item would receive more attention and evaluation if it had been listed under public safety.

Nancy Grieb, who lives on the mainland, agreed. Essential services such as PIVFD, the library and the senior center, she argued, shouldn’t be under civic support. “They’re entitled to our full financial support,” Ms. Grieb said.

Meanwhile, private groups such as Clean Ocean Access (COA), the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission and the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District — all listed under civic support — should be stricken form the budget entirely because taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to support them financially, she said. COA is a fine organization, Ms. Grieb said, but “I write my own check to them.”

Mr. Hamilton pointed out the PIVFD started receiving more funding after it was removed from the regular fire and safety budget and placed under civic support. The department was receiving about $30,000 in the early 2010s, he said. When it was moved out of the fire department budget in 2016, it received $143,000.

“Over last eight years, funding has gone up 450 percent,” Mr. Hamilton said. 

Mr. Allen countered that the fact that PIVFD was receiving only $30,000 a few years ago is irrelevant to its current needs.