As readers of The Sun are surely aware, the Watch Hill Fire Department does a commendable job, both on land and in the waters off the coast of Westerly. Last October, Chief Robert Peacock received the Firefighter of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards of the Rhode Island State Firefighters’ League — a tribute to his leadership skills and dedication to training and fire prevention.
The Watch Hill Fire District, too, by certain measures, is also well run. Of the 33 or so active fire districts in the state’s towns, Watch Hill is one of the smallest in area, at 1.5 square miles, but boasts a formidable tax base ($1.14 billion at the end of 2014), and what it has called the lowest mill rate of any fire district in Rhode Island, 51.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for fiscal 2015-16. The district owes this distinction in large part to its revenue from rental properties, and a parking lot on Larkin Road that generated $37,000 more than budgeted, according to minutes of the 2015 annual meeting. Rental income accounted for 47 percent of the 2014-15 budget, and the district has also benefited from donations, including a boat given by Chuck Royce.
All this is in keeping with the district’s assertion of Watch Hill’s “special status as a distinct community in its own right” in Westerly. And, through its charter and state statutory powers, the district and its parks commission have the authority to manage property and maintain facilities such as “piers, walks, driveways, parks, bathhouses,” etc. An objective observer might think that all these duties might be enough, and that the district would be satisfied to be the guardian of matters that are clearly within its jurisdiction. In that assumption, however, you would be incorrect. Like the Crawley crew in “Downton Abbey,” the district overseers can’t seem to help sticking their noses into the personal doings of the help.