West Salem Village Board members affirmed that they’d prefer a more flexible fee structure for fire calls, if the issue ever moves beyond the discussion phase.

On Tuesday, board members voted 5-2 to allow village attorney Bryant Klos and West Salem Fire Protection District attorney Darrel Talcott to continue drafting an ordinance that would allow the fire protection district to charge fees when called for service.

The board motion called for pursuing a flat fee of $500 per structure fire and $250 per vehicle fire, and giving the fire protection district board clerk the discretion not to charge for minor calls.

Klos told the board that when he and Talcott presented the first draft of the ordinance to the firefighters — all of whom oppose charging any fees for service — they argued that in some instances, charges were simply out of order.

“Some of the people in the fire district are concerned that on some jobs there isn’t a lot of work and $500 is charging too much,” Klos said.

Most board members seemed to agree, with the exception of J. Terry Hanson and Jim Koelbl, who appeared to be voting against the ordinance as a whole, rather than how to draft it as the motion was presented.

“I don’t think you should charge money for something you already pay taxes for,” said Koelbl, who has followed the issue closely.

Trustee Merlin Wehrs, who also acts as treasurer of the fire protection district, pointed out that by charging fees — which would mostly be paid by insurance companies — district taxpayers would be in effect saving money by charging.

Klos likened Tuesday’s vote to a jumping off point, a place to begin the end game of additional rounds of voting in all the municipalities in the fire district, which also includes the towns of Hamilton and Barre. As village president Dennis Manthei pointed out, the vote also moved forward an ordinance on which to hold a public hearing.

“I think you’re going to have to vote on whatever I draft, up or down,” Klos said. “This isn’t going to be written in stone forever.”

Wehrs estimated that depending on how the ordinance is drafted, fees could generate an additional $5,000 to $20,000 per year for the fire district.

In its current state, the draft ordinance calls for an assessment against the property for unpaid structure fire fees and a collection action against owners in the case of unpaid vehicle fires.

Other options that were thrown out Tuesday included a rigid, “no exceptions” $500 structure fire/$250 vehicle fire fee and charging hourly.