Editor's Note: This article clarifies the board's vote.

Waterford - The new staffing structure of the Fire Services drew skepticism from the Board of Finance Monday, when the board considered the proposed fire services' budget.

The board voted 6-1 to approve the proposed 2015-16 budget of $2.9 million that shows an increase of 5.79 percent over the 2014-15 budget, which Fire Services Director Bruce Miller said is mostly due to an increase in personnel costs as part of the four-year contract with the firefighters union that was approved in December by the Representative Town Meeting.

On March 1, Fire Services moved two full-time firefighter positions - one at Goshen Fire Department and one at Quaker Hill Fire Co. - to the other three districts in town. The change means Goshen and Quaker Hill are now staffed exclusively by a combination of volunteer and paid part-time firefighters.

The chiefs of the Goshen and Quaker Hill departments sent letters to their residents in February raising concerns that the changes will cause delays in responses for those served by the two fire departments.

Roughly 80 people attended the meeting Monday, and several spoke during public comment period about their concerns about the restructuring and how the change would impact the Goshen and Quaker Hill neighborhoods.

"I often wonder since this occurred, what would happen if I had a heart attack?" said Goshen resident Tom Passaro.

Board member Norman Glidden, who voted against the proposed budget, told Fire Services Director Bruce Miller he needed to consider the people of the town when making decisions about how to run the town's emergency response apparatus.

"This is about people - not statistics, not data, not helpful hints from employees," he said.

Board member John "Bill" Sheehan said the town would have to watch and see how the new system worked. He said he was concerned about enough part time firefighters being available to staff Goshen and Quaker Hill during the day, when those part timers might be at other jobs.

Sheehan said he was skeptical of the changes, but concluded, "I don't think we're in a position to cut any funds from this."

Miller maintained that the purpose of the changes was to improve service. He said Fire Services' 55 part-time firefighters were more than enough to meet staffing requirements. He also noted that even before the change, ambulances sometimes had to be brought to emergencies from stations outside the neighborhood of the originating call.

First Selectman Daniel Steward also defended the changes. He referred to the letter sent out last month by the Goshen and Quaker Hill fire chiefs as "information that was meant to scare the public."

The Fire Services budget still requires approval from the Representative Town Meeting.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess