Town of Moriah

MORIAH FIRE CONSOLIDATION NIXED:

Consolidating Moriah's three fire departments won't save taxpayers any money was the consensus reached at a community forum Thursday night.

What might raise more money would be to absorb fire-protection areas in the town into either of the two fire districts, which are taxing bodies.

Moriah and Mineville-Witherbee fire departments have their own fire districts, governed by elected fire commissioners who set tax levies for the districts. Port Henry Fire Department is owned by the Village of Port Henry, which includes fire-protection service in its municipal budget.

The Moriah Town Council convened the consolidation forum Thursday night to determine if merging the three departments into one district with one tax rate would benefit residents.