Antique shows organisers bills debated
Published November 29th, 2005
Owner-operators of the businesses that fill the town for the Brimfield Outdoor Antique Shows three times per year have questioned the bills they are paying to keep the proceedings safe.
“It’s like double billing,” Laurel Prescott of J&J Promotions told selectmen at a meeting last week. A group of 14 of the about 20 owner-operators met with selectmen about concerns over the emergency services fees they pay to the town. Some argued that, as resident taxpayers, they are already paying for police and fire protection with their annual taxes.
Prescott was upbeat about the results yesterday.
“I feel it was a very productive meeting,” she said.
In a letter to officials in June, she found fault with an itemized bill, noting that “we have never questioned the need for these valuable services,” but arguing that some costs should be passed on to dealers, such as electrical inspections.
The antiques businesses are responsible for collecting $30 permits from individual dealers setting up tents on their properties, and they hold $50 licenses with the town. The license and fees aren’t required of a small number of owner-operators, when the majority of their dealers are inside.
It is the emergency services fees that have become a sticking point with the businesses. This year, for instance, the businesses were assessed $37,290 for the September shows, covering police salaries of $29 per hour and fire department salaries of $20 per hour, as well as ambulance fees, Delnegro said.
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