FORT FAIRFIELD – Local officials are again looking at restructuring the fire department into an all-volunteer force with a full-time chief.

A public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, in Fort Fairfield.

“It’s strictly a financial issue,” Dan Foster, Fort Fairfield’s town manager, said Thursday. “Fort Fairfield has been decreasing in size for several years.”

The town has about 3,500 residents. As a result, town officials have fewer finances with which to work. By restructuring the department, the town could save $82,000 a year, according to Foster.

The town has a full-time fire chief, two full-time firefighters and about 30 volunteers.

According to the proposal, the department would be restructured to operate with a full-time chief and the volunteers. The two full-time firefighter positions would be eliminated, according to Foster.

The town attempted to change the department’s structure two years ago.

However, local residents rallied around the department, causing the Town Council to keep it the way it was.

“We have limited resources available to us to provide services to the community,” said Foster.

In addition, he has to decide if the money is appropriately spent. One way to do that is to compare the services and the money spent on them with what other communities are doing in providing services, he said.

For example, Foster looked at the town of Fort Kent, where $40,000 is spent annually on the local department.

By contrast, Fort Fairfield spends $188,000, according to Foster.

Out of all the communities in the state that are comparable to Fort Fairfield, only one, Bar Harbor, spends more on its fire department, Foster said.

Even if the reductions are approved, Foster said he believes the fire department budget continues to be high.

“I’d like to see it at $50,000 or $75,000,” said Foster.

Meanwhile, town officials are working on the 2001 budget, with a final budget ready for public inspection on April 25.

Hearings will be held in May, according to Foster.