The Cato Town Board will hold a public hearing on fire contracts and the preliminary 2008 budget at its 7 p.m. meeting tonight in the Town Hall on Short Cut Road in Cato. The town's decision not to contract with the Meridian Fire Department for 2008 may still be revisited as two town board members who voted on Oct. 2 to terminate Meridian's contract leave in January.

Linda J. Chapman (R, C) and Ronald L. Dennison (R) will be replaced by W. Irving Foster (D) and Stefan J. (Stuffy) House (D) in the new year as a result of Tuesday's elections.

Councilman Ronald Dennison, who will be stepping down in January, believes he was defeated because of his vote not to renew the Meridian contract.

“That goes without saying,” he said.

Dennison's 176 votes were the lowest among the four candidates vying for two seats on the town board. Dennison also maintained that his decision was based on a lot of facts, so that it would not likely be reversed.

“We've been very emphatic,” he said. “They just don't feel anybody should know what they're doing,” he said of the Meridian Fire Department. “They couldn't put a fire out if their life depended on it.”

Dennison noted that House, a previous town supervisor, “was elected because of the Meridian Fire Department, since he protected them for 20-plus years. Their debt load is tremendous because they've been big spenders.”

House, who will be sworn in as councilman in January, used to belong to the Meridian Fire Department.

“I can't see getting rid of a lot of volunteers,” he said.

His 405 votes were the highest among the candidates for town councilor. He expects a lot of people to attend tonight's board meeting.

“They got a lot of people upset,” House said. He wouldn't speculate on whether or not the decision might be reversed.

“I hate politics,” he said.

Chapman, Dennison, and Jerry Hunter tipped the 3-2 vote against negotiating with Meridian for the new contract to cover the town's District 1, which Meridian Fire leadership says represents about 75 percent of its department's annual income. The loss may force the Meridian department to close, although it has an agreement to cover the village of Meridian through April 2008.

Cato's District 1 covers the region north of Meridian to the Seneca River.

Problems stem back to the 2007 contract, when, according to Dennison, the town of Cato received insufficient financial records from Meridian. At that time, Dennison said, the town froze its payments at about $64,000 and gave Meridian another year to come up with better information. But Meridian did not submit requested inspection and testing records for equipment with its bid for Cato's 2008 contract.

Financial records, manpower and equipment were key factors causing the Cato Town Board to decline the contract. Malfunctioning equipment and low turnout for calls stretch back for decades, Dennison said.

Cato Fire Department will cover the north end of Fire District 1, and Jordan Fire Department the south, splitting the district to alleviate concerns about response times. Cato FD covers the town's District 2 on the west side of town, with Weedsport Fire Department handling District 3 in the south. Jordan and Cato department pay increases make their contracts more costly than Meridian's would have been.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net