Eighth Utilities District Reports Missing Documents to Police

The Manchester Fire Department is missing documents used to calculate volunteer fire fighters eligibility to receive a tax abatement from the town based on work performed, according to President Mary O'Marra. 

O'Marra announced the missing documents in a press release issued Tuesday, July 3, which pertain to rosters of response and availability of volunteer fire fighters from the district and their ability to handle calls received by the department during the October 2011 snowstorm and its aftermath. According to O'Marra, the rosters "determine points which are used to allocate the compensation pool available to department members for response to fire department calls and attendance at fire department drills. Points are also used to calculate eligibility for Eighth District and town of Manchester tax abatement programs." 

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Eighth Utilities District firefighters are a largely volunteer based unit of fire fighters that respond to calls in northern portion of Manchester and are also available for mutual aid calls in other parts of town. The volunteer firefighters are eligible to receive a tax break of up to $400 off their motor vehicle taxes each year, according to a town ordinance, but most response to at least 120 emergency calls, 25 of which have to be mutual aid calls. 

O'Marra said the issue of the missing documents was first reported to the Board of Directors of the Eighth Utilities District in a special meeting Monday night, July 2, by Fire Chief Paul Litrico as part of a special meeting, and that the Board of Directors voted unanimously at the meeting to report the matter to the Manchester Police Department. 

Manchester Director of Assessment and Collection John Rainaldi said he received the Eighth Utilities District's list of volunteers who qualified for the tax abatements this year in mid-May and that it contained 17 names. 

The missing documents are just the latest controversial incident in what has proven to be a rocky year for the Eighth Utilities District Manchester Fire Department. In mid-March, , one of the few paid members of the department, and the son of the chief and Assistant Chief Mary Beth Litrico, was arrested outside the department's Main Street fire house and charged with buying heroin while on duty and in uniform; Joseph Litrico has since from the department. While in April, the police department announced that it was allegations of fraud involving a $150 a ticket car raffle. That investigation is still ongoing and the police have not released any findings related to it. 

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