Groton - Representatives of the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District said Tuesday its residents are paying a disproportionate amount to protect town-owned and state-owned tax-exempt properties - and asked the Town Council to intervene and make the tax system fair.

"Our short-term goal is to fix the unfair tax burden that exists," said Alan Ackley, chairman of the fire district board for Poquonnock Bridge.

The council referred the issue to a committee to look into it.

"We're all well aware that this is something that has to be discussed," Mayor Rita Schmidt said. Groton has nine fire districts which operate independently, approve their own budgets, set their own tax rates, and provide fire service along with other service like trash pickup, if they want it and can afford it.

Councilors met with representatives of all of the fire districts this year as a condition of releasing the districts' payment in lieu of tax funding.

Poquonnock Bridge is the largest of the nine fire districts, and includes almost 60 percent of the state-, town- and city-owned tax-exempt property in Groton, according to figures provided to the council by Ron Yuhas, member of the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District Board.

The fire district includes Groton Town Hall, the Town Hall Annex, Robert E. Fitch High School, the town police station, the Groton Senior Center and Groton Public Library. Poquonnock Bridge is also responsible for the commercial strip on Route 1, the reservoir and some Groton City property, Yuhas said.

Since so much property cannot be taxed, the businesses and residents who do pay taxes in Poquonnock Bridge - including those in some of Groton's poorest neighborhoods - must pick up the tab. Meanwhile, taxpayers living in other fire districts pay less, Yuhas said.

Taxpayers in Poquonnock Bridge paid 5.9 mills in fire district taxes last year, the highest of the nine and higher than any other fire district for the last 10 years, according to data provided by Yuhas.

Nearly one-third of Groton's residents live in Poquonnock Bridge, and the taxes are affecting businesses, Ackley said.

The town and city also charge the fire district where they should not, Yuhas said. For example, Poquonnock Bridge protects Groton City property, but the city charges the district $100,0000 to rent fire hydrants, he said.

Yuhas suggested this as a possible solution: Levy a districtwide fire tax of 2 mills, then distribute the money to each district based on the percentage of tax-exempt property in each one.

But Councilor Genevieve Cerf said it's unfair to make smaller fire districts, which have found ways to recruit volunteers and save money, cover the expenses of a larger fire department.

Councilor Dean Antipas said he'd be concerned about asking residents of districts outside Poquonnock Bridge to help pay for a department but then have no say over how the money is spent.

The council's public safety committee that will take up the issue includes Councilors Rich Moravsik, Joe de la Cruz and Harry Watson.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim