Fire Capt. David Bourcier appointed Wilbraham deputy fire chief

Date: 12/11/2014

WILBRAHAM –  At its Dec. 1 meeting, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the appointment of Fire Capt. David Bourcier as deputy fire chief, a position that has been vacant and

“I think he’ll bring a fine level of expertise forward and we’re able to move the organization forward,” Fire Chief Francis Nothe said. “And with the workload; there’s new regulations from the state, there’s a new fire code they’re adopting. The state has also changed the way we recertify in emergency medical services.

“We’re also working on a regional dispatch project, which would be a tremendous amount of work to get something like that off the ground,” he continued.

Bourcier said he has worked as the town’s fire inspector during the last five years and has also held the rank of captain for 11 years. The deputy fire chief salary is $88,246.

“I heartily endorse Dave for the position,” Fire Commissioner Gary Petzold said. “I think he’s a class act. He’s the kind of guy that when [Nothe] decides to retire he’ll certainly be an excellent candidate for our next chief. And I firmly believe that the on-the-job training over the years will allow a nice smooth transition.”

Bourcier said during his interview that he’s always strived to be the best in his field and he thinks the Fire Department needs a second level of administration.

“I think what we should be talking about are the members of this department,” he added. “They are outstanding people and I think the town doesn't really realize who they have that's on this fire department and they are just the most highly trained.”

Bourcier noted that he would like to see the Fire Department continue to grow after his future retirement.

“You come on board with the Fire Department and you always want to see it get better and better,” he added. “And I have a vested in this department and I just want to see it move forward and I want to just really help the people become all they can be.”

The list of Bourcier’s responsibilities will change as well. He said he would no longer be the training officer and fire inspector.

Nothe said candidates for Bourcier’s former positions would likely be from within the department.
    “I feel great,” Bourcier said after being appointed by the board. “I think it's going to give me a great opportunity to serve my community in that capacity.”

In other business, interim Town Administrator Thomas Sullivan said the Board of Assessors (BOA) recently announced that the real estate and personal property values for fiscal year 2015 have been finalized and certified by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR).

“It is $20.80 [per $1,000 assessment],” he added. “We’re currently preparing the real estate tax billing file for process. The other thing is that the increase this year was not 2.5 percent. The increase was only 2.1 percent so we did not tax to the maximum, which really kudos go to the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen for that.”

The new rate is an increase of $0.44 from the previous year, according to information from the town's website. The board voted to approve the rate of $20.88, which applies to all classes of real property, industrial, residential, and commercial, at a classification hearing on Nov. 24.

“We’ve been always very close [to our 2.5 percent limit] but this time here I think we have like $600,000 that we did not raise, which is a good number,” he added.

The rate increase is a result of appropriations approved during Town Meeting, the school department exclusion, as well as current market conditions as of Jan. 1.

Tax bills are anticipated to be mailed out at the end of December and payments and applications for abatements are due by Feb. 2, 2015.

Daniele Desmarais was also unanimously approved for a position with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). 

“I’m currently a grad student at Clark University in environmental science and policy and I've lived here for 22 years,” Desmarais said.