Groton — Taxpayers in the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District vote Tuesday on a proposed $4.61 million budget, but face a far different situation than they did even one year ago, when the district feared it would run out of money.

“We’ve made changes, not just financial changes, but other changes that are tactically sound and fiscally responsible,” Fire Department Chief Joe Winski said.

The budget, approved by the fire district board in two meetings, would maintain staffing of five firefighters per shift, rehire three of the nine firefighters laid off last summer and set aside money to train and equip volunteers. It would keep all firefighters and offices in one station on Long Hill Road.

“I support (the budget) because I believe we’ve made inroads and we’re saving the public a lot of money, even though it’s a slight increase,” District Board Chairman Alan Ackley said. “It’s a fair budget.”

Spending would increase from $3.96 million to $4.61 million, or 16.52 percent, but taxes would rise only slightly because the board cut costs last year and the grand list, or the amount of taxable property in the fire district, rose.

The mill rate would increase from 5.9 mills to 6.05 mills, or by 0.15 mills.

The annual meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Groton Senior Center, with a 6 p.m. registration to confirm eligibility to vote. Registered voters who live in the fire district or who pay taxes in the fire district may vote.

Those residents will be asked to vote on a budget for the coming fiscal year and elect three people to the 9-member board of directors. One seat has remained vacant since former board member Peter Legnos resigned in November. The other seats are held by Ron Yuhas and Susan Aguiar.

Ackley said he hopes voters will attend the meeting and express their views. Winski said morale at the firehouse is better and he and the board are working together.

A year ago, the district was divided and fighting just to pay its bills. Meetings erupted into shouting, with some residents cursing and walking out. Last summer, the board laid off nine firefighters — more than one-third of the department — despite protests it could jeopardize public safety. Two firefighters have since been hired back.

Keith Gomes, who was hired back on Feb. 28, said there's no animosity like there was before.

“There’s no tension,” he said during an interview Thursday.

He'd been with the department six and a half years when he was laid off. Gomes said he'd been working for Groton Ambulance also so he picked up extra hours, but he missed even the routine tasks of mopping in the firehouse.

“My first shift coming back, I would say it felt better than my very first day here when I was offered the job,” he said. The difference was that after he'd been working for the department for awhile, it became a way of life, a career, and a family. Then it was suddenly taken from him.

He returned to a changed firehouse, but in a good way.

“It’s a vastly different environment in every possible way," Gomes said. "And it’s different for the better."

The district has shuttered the Fort Hill station and moved all its offices, including the fire marshal and fire marshal’s secretary, to the station on Long Hill Road, Winski said.

The department also plans to sell four vehicles: A Chevy Suburban, replaced in 2013 by the current chief’s vehicle; a Dodge Durango, the fire marshal’s car replaced about three years ago; Engine 31, a spare engine that was out of service; and the district’s old ladder truck. Selling will save money on vehicle maintenance, insurance and testing, Winski said.

Duplicate equipment, like work benches and tools, also will be sold, he said. The department will go from three engines to two but still have a spare, as it bought a combination ladder and pumper truck, Winski said.

The proposed budget includes money to train and equip volunteers, but would organize them differently than in the past. Rather than working with volunteers who belong to a separate organization, volunteers would be appointed by the district, trained by career staff and through the state certification program, and serve under the direction of the department.

Consolidating into the one station is part of unifying the department, Winski said.

“A unified response is far more effective than splitting your forces,” he said.

The goal is to run an efficient department that meets public safety needs, he said.

“The people own this firehouse. We don’t,” Winski said. “We are a unified group of taxpayers and firefighters. This is a ‘we’ situation. Not a ‘you’ or an ‘I’ situation.”

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim