For 30 years, Marion and Rochester have shared a Regional Health District, but that could change in one night should voters dissolve the arrangement at Rochester’s annual Town Meeting.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 20 at Rochester Memorial School. A special Town Meeting is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. the same day, at the same location.

The warrant article, if approved, withdraws the town from the Health District, and would take effect on June 30, 2014.

Under the current agreement, Rochester and Marion share the district’s budget, elect two separate Boards of Health, and employ the same health agent.

However, the towns pay their own liability insurance.

This added cost can be avoided by adopting an inter-municipal agreement between the towns, said Rochester Town Administrator Richard LaCamera. He estimated a yearly savings of $4,000 per year because the health agent would become a contract employee under the agreement.

Additionally, the Health District dictates the amount Rochester pays into the district’s annual budget. LaCamera said this became an issue last year when Rochester accepted a three percent cost of living increase in the budget. LaCamera said Rochester officials had requested no change.

Rochester Board of Health Chair Dale Barrows disagrees with LaCamera. Barrows said no money would be saved if Rochester withdraws. The insurance question has been settled through legal opinions from the Health District’s attorney, he said.

For Barrows, the change would negatively impact services provided by the district, including joint ventures such as public health inspections, and disease control.

“Right now, this [article] is taking power away from the district, and giving it to the Board of Selectmen, instead of the Board of Health, where it should be,” Barrows said. “This is politics interfering with public health.”

Barrows cautioned voters against approving the article.

“We’re really trying to get the word out that it really isn’t a good deal for the town of Rochester, and people should be wary,” he said.

The Health District article is one of 15 that voters will weigh in on at Town Meeting. There will also be votes on the annual town budget, a bylaw designed to increase public safety, and an ambulance service upgrade.

The following is a brief summary of what else will be discussed.

Town budget

Voters will be asked to approve a proposed $18,421,139 town budget for 2014, a $671,203 increase over the current budget. LaCamera said budget line items include overdue salary increases for three town officials - the Town Clerk, Tax Collector, and Tree Warden.

“This should have been brought up a long time ago,” LaCamera said. “There are a lot of responsibilities, and I don’t think the salaries have been competitive.”

The Town Clerk and Tax Collector salaries will be increased by $3,574 to an annual total of $25,000. The Tree Warden salary will be increased to $2,500, from $661.

The new salaries were compared the same positions in surrounding towns.

Ambulance service

Fire Chief Scott Weigel is bringing a $129,797 request to Town Meeting for the purpose of upgrading the town’s ambulance service from offering Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support.

The money would be added to salaries/wages and expense line items in the EMT budget. Recently, the department received a $100,000 from the Southcoast Hospital System to purchase equipment, and hire additional first responders.

Advanced training units carry more equipment than basic care certified outfits. Also, paramedics in the advanced service have 1,000 hours of training and education compared to the 300 hours required of EMTs.

LaCamera said there might be discussion on the ambulance change because of the increase.

Public safety

To improve public safety, Police Chief Paul Magee is requesting a new bylaw intended to make background checks easier for the department to conduct.

If approved, it allows police to conduct fingerprint-based criminal history checks on individuals applying for certain licenses. Licenses for pawn dealers, dealer of second-hand articles, and door-to-door salespeople are covered by the proposed bylaw.

During the summer, Magee said out-of-state visitors seek permission to sell items door-to-door.

“Verifying their true identity is often difficult, and to ensure public safety those people will have to submit to a fingerprint-based check…with the identify theft and fraud that goes on, this is a much more accurate way,” Magee said.

To view the complete warrants, for special and annual Town Meetings, click on the links below.