What is the Board of Fire Commissioners and what does it do?
The Board of Fire Commissioners of the Halfmoon Fire District #1 consists of five (5) elected individuals who receive no compensation for their service. This Board is the governing body of the Halfmoon Fire District #1. This fire district is a local government entity that was formed under the laws of New York State and has broad powers among which are the powers to organize, operate, maintain, equip, and adopt policies and procedures for a fire department. That fire department is the Halfmoon Hillcrest Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. The volunteer officers and members of the Halfmoon Hillcrest Fire Department Inc. operate under the direction of a Fire Chief who reports to the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Halfmoon Fire District #1.
The Board of Fire Commissioners establishes a yearly budget to cover all of the expenses that are expected to impact the fire department equipment, operations, buildings, training, etc. This yearly budget is primarily funded with real property tax dollars that are received from the taxpaying residents of the fire district. It is our expectation that the assessed value of the real property of the Halfmoon Fire District #1 will significantly increase within the next few years, and the Halfmoon Hillcrest Fire Department Inc. will have to keep up with this expected growth. It is just one of the jobs of the Board of Fire Commissioners to see that the real property tax dollars are used legally, wisely and efficiently. The five Commissioners have all taken oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York, and to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities. To these principles we are dedicated.