The Westover Account Is A Gift Not A Tax

           “ First of all you have to understand what the "Westover Account" is. It's' money that Westover school pays to the TOWN---not directly to the Firehouse, but to the TOWN. It does so in lieu of taxes. The TOWN then gives the money to the Firehouse.”

Thats right, you need to know what the Westover Account is, which apparently you do not.  Westover is a private, non-profit girls boarding school and is tax exempt.  It is not required to pay any taxes.  It does not pay this amount of money in lieu of taxes, because it does not have to pay taxes at all.  The money that is given to the Town is what is called a GIFT.  

The Town then gives out the money to various departments and they can do what they wish with the money.  That is how Westover wants it.  There are absolutely no restrictions on how the money is to be spent.  Again, it is a gift not a tax payment.

The Fire Department actually gets more, but Mr. St. John would skim off the top $2,500.00 to be used for the Town’s Appreciation party at the end of the summer.  I believe that is chicken and beer instead of burgers and beer. 

Even though the money is meant to go to the Fire Department to do what they wish with it, it is still a Town controlled account. All of the expenditures from this account must be paid by the Board of Selectman. The Selectmen write the checks, not the Fire Chief.

This account has been around for years and has been used by all Fire Chiefs for whatever they wished. It is not a unique account for the current Chief.

What are all these Astro bills?  Electrical improvements to the Firehouse at discount prices and approved by Ed St. John. 

Fleeces and shirts to the members, how could they do such a thing?  A member risks his life 365 days a year, spends hundreds of hours helping our residents, and at the end of the day they give them a fleece.

FD Victory Parties?  If the Town sees it fit to take $2,500.00 for a Town party, it seems the MVFD can take a certain amount to pay for FD parties.