Village Moving to Close Fire Department in Wake of Comp Claim

The Village Board for the Village of Prospect, N.Y., voted Monday night to shut down the village fire department in response to a pending $101,400 settlement of a firefighters' workers' compensation claim, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported.The newspaper said the village's 291 residents must approve the decision in a referendum scheduled for Sept. 24. Officials are warning the workers' compensation claim has left the village on the verge of bankruptcy. Mayor Fran Righi called the predicament "horrible.""It was a very hard decision for the board to make," she said.Righi said t...