While voters in West Salem and Hamilton face a tax-levy referendum for the West Salem Fire Protection District come Election Day, those in Barre are going to sit this one out.

The fire district came to the three municipalities this year with much larger than normal requests for money, in part to enable the fire district to switch to a fiscal year that matches the calendar year and in part to pay off debt from fire station remodeling and other expenses.

The fire department is seeking $388,531 this year, and it’s split between the three municipalities based on equalized property value. West Salem’s share is $184,662, Hamilton’s share is $141,575 and Barre’s share is $62,531.

Barre Town Chairman Ron Reed said the town has a history of paying its fire district costs ahead of time and will not have any trouble meeting the fire district’s higher funding request.

“We can give them what they’re asking. We’ve got it covered. We don’t have to have a referendum,” he said. “We could have a referendum, but why rile people up if you don’t have to.”

The Barre Town Board made the decision not to put a referendum on the ballot at its monthly meeting Sept. 9.

“We’ve got 2009 covered because we budgeted it back last year,” Reed said. “No matter what happens, we’re OK.”

Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net or (608) 786-6812.