Fire Department: We want it, but how do we want to pay for it?
Our Fire Department is a sensitive issue for a lot of residents. We have an emotional attachment to having our own firemen. It’s great to see them riding in parades, and it makes us all feel better knowing that they are “our boys.” I share in that emotional attachment. As the Student Government Sponsor at Newberry HS, it is my responsibility to plan our annual homecoming parade. I love calling them up and getting them involved, and the students certainly love it as well. It’s nice to have a local department that will still come to your rescue when you lock your keys in your car or get your cat out of a tree for you, and it is comforting to know that, if an emergency happens, it’s going to be a neighbor, friend and possibly a relative that comes to help.
As a resident, I love having a local fire department, but as a Commissioner, it is my responsibility to make us all aware of the costs involved in having that department so that we understand where our tax money is going. That being said, I should admit to my own bias in having our own local fire department, but ultimately, it is up to you to decide how you want us to spend your money. So, I’m going to ask that we all try to set our emotions aside for a moment and calmly and rationally think about this issue.
First, we need to understand the cost.
- The City of Newberry budgets a little under $1 million a year for the fire department, but with overtime and other such costs, (for example, last year, we paid out over $118k in overtime for 12 firemen) the fire department usually actually ends up costing over $1 million. That number is rising and will continue to rise every year.
- Your fire assessment fee, right now, is $75 a year. When the Commission first started looking at creating the department, the plan was to increase the fire assessment $25 a year until the fire department reached the “personal property protection”*(definition below) point which I have been told is between $300 to $350. For political reasons, no one wants to be seen as the politician who raised rates, the City hasn’t increased the assessment fee in years, which means that our utilities department has been and is heavily subsidizing our fire department. The fire department assessment revenues are around $165,000. We also contract with the County, which brings into the fire department another $140,000. Last year’s budget for the fire department was $866,000. That’s over a half a million difference between revenues and expenditures. In this budget session, it’s been proposed to increase the fee to either $100 or $125.
- For the past two years, the fire department has requested equipment that the City can’t afford to provide. For instance, last year and this year, the department requested a new water truck. That would cost $180,000, and we just don’t have the money to buy it. Our inability to provide the fire department with the equipment that it needs weighs on me. I don’t want to let our financial problems place any of our firemen or our residents in danger.
- Firemen belong to a union, and part of that union contract is a very complicated labor structure that guarantees firemen overtime each month. The last figure I received had the fire department at over 5000 hours of overtime for the year, and there were still three months left in the fiscal year. That boiled down to, at the time, about 46 hours a month of overtime for each fireman. Right now, we have six firemen who receive over $10,000 a year in overtime pay. We have three firemen who receive over $15,000 a year in overtime pay. The problem is that hiring more firemen, which is usually the solution when it comes to overtime, wouldn’t solve the issue because you would be hiring more firemen who you then HAD to give overtime hours to.
- There is an indirect cost to our Newberry utilities costumers. Since utilities is the only profit generating business the City has access to, we have to ensure those profits stay high. I wouldn’t go so far as to ensure that our utility prices would decrease, but theoretically, they should. Now, of course, we could argue that our utilities department subsidizes all of our departments, and to an extent, that it is true. I would, however, identify two differences when it comes to subsidizing our fire department with utility profits. First, because of the union contract, we have very little control over that department’s budget. The only way we can save money in the fire department is by cutting equipment. I don’t think that is a safe or sustainable solution. I think choice here is an important distinction to make. For instance, if we choose to subsidize our parks & rec. department with our utilities profits, that’s a choice that can be made and then unmade. We don’t have a choice here. We always have and we always will have to subsidize the fire department. Second, when it comes to fire service, we have another, cheaper, option, contracting with the County which will be discussed below, that we don’t have with any other service the City provides. We can’t contract road maintenance for less than we can do it ourselves. We can’t contract water for less than we can do it ourselves. But, we can contract fire service for less than we can do it ourselves.
Let’s talk about options:
- Option one: We keep our fire department local, we make no changes in how it’s run, and we increase our fire assessment fee to the private property protection point. Again, that means that we would need an assessment fee in the range of $300 to $350.
- Option two: We keep our fire department local, we increase the assessment fee moderately, and we look at ways to drastically reduce the department’s budget.
- For instance, the County and the majority of fire departments in the State run a system in which there are two firemen at the station and two firemen on call. If there is a fire related call, all four firemen are dispatched to the fire.
- Newberry runs a system where there are four firemen at the station at all times. The benefit to our system is that there is no potential of wait time for the firemen to go into the building (By law, firemen cannot enter a building fire until there are four firemen onsite).
- Obviously, our system is better. It’s safer. But, it also costs a lot more money. And, in reality, only 3% of the calls into Newberry’s fire department are fire related, and the majority of those calls are fires that are not building fires, which means the four firemen rule doesn’t apply. Last month (at the time of this posting), our fire department had 79 calls. Only 1 of those calls was for a building fire. That means that we pay four firemen to address a concern that happens only .01% of the time. To be fair, this is the point where we run the danger of getting emotional. I’ve heard people say that, if we use the same system that 90% of the cities in the State of Florida use, we would be putting people’s lives in danger. To be honest, I think that is fear mongering. I’ve been studying this issue for over a year now, and I haven’t seen a rampage of fire deaths across the State. The County uses this system, and they have an excellent rating. The City of Alachua contracts with the County, and they’re very happy with the service they get from them. If we want to spend the money to pay two extra firemen to be at the station to respond to something that happens .01% of the time, that’s fine with me, but let’s make that decision absent any emotional appeals. Let’s do it with our eyes wide open.
- Note: This option will only be a real option when the firemen’s union contract is up for renegotiation, which isn’t for another year.
- Option three: We look at beginning to negotiate with the County to take over the fire station, and we negotiate a one-time annual fee, like we do with the Sheriff’s office for police service. The City of Newberry pays the Sheriff’s office about $450,000 a year for police protection. If fire was in that range, we would save about $450,000 a year, but we would lose control of the department. That is a real concern. Another factor to consider in this option would be the large infusion of cash that the City would receive for the sale of all of the equipment to the County.
- Option four: We do nothing and simply continue to transfer money out of our utilities to pay for the fire department. This means we have to accept that we will, most likely, need to borrow the money for facility upgrades and additions and that our water rates will continue to be on the high side. The City of Newberry has been doing well financially. We are the only city in Florida whose property values increased. We’ve seen growth and relative stability in a time when most cities are running for cover. So, this may not be a bad option. However, even if we choose to go this way, I think we need to do it with an educated understanding of the issue.
There may be both options and costs that I have missed. If so, please, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ve tried to present this issue as objectively as I can, while being upfront about my wish to find a way to keep our fire department local, properly funded, and under Newberry’s control. I guess the decision comes down to whether or not we want to pay for it, and if we do want to pay for, how do we want to pay for it. While admitting that I want the fire department to stay the way it is, I also have to admit that I don’t think we can continue to have our cake and eat it too.
*Taken from Commissioner Marlowe’s July 9th Notes on the City Commission Meeting
Thanks Mr. Marlowe, I know you have put a lot of thought and work into getting this workshop setup appropriately. I absolutely agree it is a waste of time just to discuss a topic without some concrete facts and answers to basic questions about the possible contract between the City and County with regards to fire and ambulance response. I agree that keeping the staff at their current (or greater pay levels) that we currently have is a minimum criteria. I haven’t looked at my tax bill details, but I don’t have a problem with an additional fire assessment fee, especially if it increases level of service or is able to keep it local. We certainly don’t pay anywhere near the taxes that Gainesville residents do. I’m not sure I’m the best resource and luckily have not needed an ambulance or fire truck at my house yet. It is comforting to know they are only 2 miles down the road from me and of course we have enjoyed seeing them so involved in local events over the years and to see City of Newberry on the side of that engine fills us all with a little pride. Trying to keep that small town feel, while growing business/tax revenue is important to me and I’m sure many others that moved here for that reason. Again thanks for all your hard work, we do appreciate it.
First off, Mr. Farr, let me apologize. I check my website regularly so that I can respond to citizens in a timely manner, and I just don’t know how I missed this comment. So, for the tardiness of my response, I am sorry. Second, let me say thank you for you comments. When I try to get conversations started, I always appreciate the citizens willing to engage, and I really appreciate when my family is willing to join the conversation. Unfortunately, since you are the lead negotiator for the Union in the City of Newberry Fire Department, we can not really, in any appropriate way, have a conversation between the two of us on any of the disagreements on “facts”. I would like to clear up what were some obvious miscommunications and implications. First, when I wrote about our fire department being willing to help residents who have locked their keys in their car, I was listing things our department does over and beyond bigger fire departments. I was talking about what gives our fire department that local, hometown feel. I certainly wasn’t trying to insult you. I was actually trying to compliment our fire department. But, I do feel bad that you misunderstood, and I hope that misunderstanding is cleared up. Second, as far as I know, with the exception of this comment here, the fire department has never engaged in the political end of this conversation, so my comments about fear mongering also were not directed at you or the fire department. My comments about fear mongering were generic to whom ever attempts to derail the citizens of Newberry from even having a conversation about how to pay for the fire department on the basis of scaring them away from the conversation. So, again, I apologize if you took those comments personally. They were not directed at you. The last thing that I feel comfortable talking directly to you about, since you are the lead negotiator for the Union, is the general tone of your response. I tried really hard in my posting about the fire department to be upfront with my own personal desire to have a local fire department while at the same time trying to have an objective conversation about how to pay for it and a discussion of our options. I think, in your response, you actually proved my point about how hard that is for us to do. We do have such an emotional attachment to our fire department that it is hard for us not to get defensive, jump to conclusions, make accusations, and see implications where none were meant. I’m well aware that in opening the door to the conversation most people will assume that my position is somehow against the fire department, but I think I’ve been pretty open about my bias to keep it local. And, as a resident, I’m entitled to my desire to have a local fire department. As a Commissioner though, it’s my job to ask the residents, the people who live and pay taxes in Newberry, what they want and how they want to pay for it. Again, I appreciate your comments, and if you want to pass off your role as lead negotiator to another fireman, I’ll be more than willing to engage with you in your other comments.
Thanks, cousin!
Jordan
Mr. Marlowe,
In response to your Fire Department: We want it, but how are we going to pay for it. I take issue with a few of your “facts” and suggestions of the Union and it’s members that work in the Fire Department.
First and foremost to reduce us to a bunch of “boys” who will come unlock your car and get your cat out of a tree is rather shameful and a slap in the face. What we are is a group of fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, tax payers, and voters, several of us have roots as deep as yours in this community. This same group is willing to put it all on the line each and everyday they report to work, and this is not only while responding to structure fires.
The Fire Department has always been and will continue to be an expense. It is what it is. By it’s structure it has no way of generating funds, other than MSTU’s or Fire Assessment Fees. I am not certain, but believe this Fire Department’s budget should have remained relatively stagnant over the last several years. This is not to say there are not issues or cost saving measures that could take place. This is true in any department.
To demonize the Union and it’s members’ is absurd. Our contract does not have a “very complicated labor structure that guarantees firemen overtime each month”. Our contract with the exception of a couple articles is basically City policy. We are guaranteed overtime hours (6 hour per check) through the Garcia Act. This is a federal law which gives a couple different options for paying firemen. The City chose the pay structure we currently have long before you, me, or the formation of any union. So your numbers game that you portray the Firemen raking in these large overtime checks every month is not completely true, lets deduct for the overtime that is “built” into our base salaries through a Federal Law. Even with the overtime that was “earned” by these firemen, the vast majority still do not earn the base salaries of surrounding departments with the same command structure and job qualifications. To say that the City can not put together a budget that correctly reflects the true expenditures of the department, because of the Unions’ contract is wrong. Sounds more like a staff issue. Our contract, nor pay has changed drastically since 2006, this is with the exception of some lower end personnel in the Firefighter classification receiving a raise, and a 2% raise last year. Both of which were brought forth by the City and we are extremely grateful. This tells me we should have a pretty good grasp on personnel costs. We only get a certain amount of time off a year, maybe it’s time to take some averages for the next budget.
To your point of the “large influx of cash” the City will receive from the sell of equipment, this is wishful thinking at best. I am not certain, but believe they typically lease the equipment for a couple of years. Again, I am not certain, but wouldn’t start planning any parks with that money.
Alachua County does not use any “on-call” personnel other than investigators. Alachua County is able to meet it’s Two in, Two out State mandate in a “timely” manner because of there close proximity of stations, and they have an automatic mutual aid agreement with all surrounding municipalities. Our second due stations are one of the following: Station 17 (Jonesville) 9.3 mi., Station 27 (Archer) 9.9 mi., Station 29 (High Springs) 13 mi., and Station 21(Alachua) 24 mi. This is the approximate mileage from their station to downtown Newberry. These estimates were taken from Google, and will very depending on the location of the call. So, if a fire doubles in size and intensity every minute, how long do you want to wait for the firemen to be able to enter a structure? This is not “fear mongering”, but rather the truth. This does not only increase risk to civilians, but also the firemen who now must enter the structure in it’s full blown growth stage. During this stage we have an increased danger of flashover. Many firemen, regretfully, do not survive this extreme fire event. Again, not “fear mongering”, but facts.
To the point of “fire related calls” and non fire related calls. We respond to an array of emergencies. Structure fires (.01%) require a minimum of 15-20 personnel on scene, not just 4. These extra personnel are provided by surrounding stations through our mutual aid agreements. This is for an ordinary 1500 sq. ft. residential structure. Brush fires are extremely taxing on personnel due to weather (heat), terrain, and the urban interface. These fires can last for several hours, require many different resources, and be extremely strenuous. EMS calls are not your “run of the mill” calls, that can be handled by just one or two people. A severe respiratory emergency, diabetic emergency, stroke, anaphylaxis, or major cardiac event are not easily handled by even four personnel. My wife works in a very busy recovery room and when they have a major medical event, they respond with a team of at least six. This is in a controlled environment, where the patient is laying in a hospital bed. We are not so lucky! We typically have to remove our patients from a bathroom, bedroom, or other cumbersome /tight area, down a narrow hallway before we can begin our care. This can not be done with two people without causing great bodily harm to the patient and/or the rescue personnel. Vehicle accidents can also be a very work intensive environment. So to dilute our need for four personnel down to the .01% of calls that we run is a misnomer and we should re-evaluate our department’s worth.
The Union and it’s members would fully support a “merger” of the Fire Department with Alachua County Fire Rescue, especially if “neutering” the service we currently have is the alternative. This agreement would have to include the transfer of all line personnel with their years of service, rank, and a transfer or pay out of all sick and vacation time earned. These items are very important to our members, because they are items we have dedicated the majority of our adult lives working for.
Members of this department do a great deal to lower our financial burden on the City and it’s citizens. We routinely service and repair our equipment, if it is feasible, or reasonable for us to handle. We have changed out light fixtures, ballast, sink fixtures, hot water heaters, and the list goes on. We are very conscious of our costs. Don’t forget several of us were born, raised, and married in this community. I know that doesn’t mean much any more, but to us it does and we want to have the least burden as possible on our mothers, fathers, in-laws, and ourselves.
You write of the “fear mongering” that goes with the discussion of the Fire Department. Well, I ask you to help me stop the “Union Bashing.” This Union has worked extensively with the City and it’s staff to come to agreements on issues. All of these issues have been overwhelmingly agreed upon by both staff and the Commission. In the 10+ years we have been in the Union we have only negotiated ONE raise, and have only had ONE grievance filed that made it to Mr. Ashby. This was quickly resolved within the first 15 minutes of the meeting. If staff has not revealed to the Commission and the citizens this fact in a public forum, then shame on them. We have always had the City and it’s citizens in our best interest. While doing this, we also hold the City to a standard that they created. The City, not the Union created the job qualifications for the positions in the Fire Department. We only ask that those qualifications be upheld when there are vacancies in these positions. Although, the Union has worked with the City to lower the standards to the State minimum for the Lieutenant classification for out of class assignments. To assume that a Driver Operator can step into an Officer’s shoes and perform the job without fail is ridiculous to say the least. Officers have training in leadership, command, fire tactics, building construction, and fire behavior to name a few. To assume that a Firefighter can step into a Driver Operator’s shoes is also as dangerous. A Driver Operator has the most effect on the safety of the crew and the citizens who are also on the roadways, than any other position in the fire service. These jobs have requirements and these requirements are set forth by the State of Florida and Mr. Atwater’s office (Chief Financial Officer). The Union only ask the City through Article 16 of our Inter-local Agreement to uphold and maintain these standards for the safety and integrity of the crews and the safety of the citizens of Newberry.
This City has a dedicated crew at the Fire Station, 24 hours a day. I beg you and the citizens not to take that for granted. Please be sensitive to the fact that we are talking about fathers, mothers, mortgage holders, tax payers, and voters livelihood. Please don’t minimize our service to just .01% of the time we are at work. We in fact have dedicated our life to public service and realize that it is often a thankless job. The times that we respond to that vehicle accident and are able to help the kids who have wrecked their car, or watch a family that is able to move back into there house after a fire, or for the cardiac patient that died while sitting in our office and walked back in 2 weeks later to shake our hands, these are the times that we give thanks and know that we are making a difference all the time, not just that .01%.
It is hard not to be sensitive or emotional on this matter. I have given the last 15 years of my life to serving this community and helping build a “professional” fire department. I have watched many people come through the doors. I have assisted in training them and teaching them the trade, only for them to leave for “greener pastures.” When Mayor Hartzog was in office, one of his biggest concerns in the Fire Department was to stop it from being a “training ground” for other departments. Thankfully! This has been accomplished, we now have employees with 20, 15, 10, and 5 years of service. This brings a great deal of pride, knowledge, and experience to the Fire Department. As a history teacher, you understand the frustration of telling someone about the past, when they may or may not have been around, when things weren’t so “peaches and cream.” These are the members who have earned minimum wage, but stuck through it on the promise of “better days.” The days are better, but it is also time for the City to begin looking at “re-investing” in all of it’s employees. All of the City employees do an invaluable service for this community. We have watched City infrastructure grow, while also watching our bills increase over the last several years. We are not immune to the economical struggles of this economy. Please help spread the word of all the “good” that comes from the Fire Department, City, and it’s Union members. Thanks, for your time and your service to this community.
If you would like to talk with the members of Local 3852 (Newberry Branch), please feel free to contact me.
Graciously,
Kevin Farr (Lead Negotiator)
Local 3852(Newberry Branch)
First off, Mr. Farr, let me apologize. I check my website regularly so that I can respond to citizens in a timely manner, and I just don’t know how I missed this comment. So, for the tardiness of my response, I am sorry. Second, let me say thank you for you comments. When I try to get conversations started, I always appreciate the citizens willing to engage, and I really appreciate when my family is willing to join the conversation. Unfortunately, since you are the lead negotiator for the Union in the City of Newberry Fire Department, we can not really, in any appropriate way, have a conversation between the two of us on any of the disagreements on “facts”. I would like to clear up what were some obvious miscommunications and implications. First, when I wrote about our fire department being willing to help residents who have locked their keys in their car, I was listing things our department does over and beyond bigger fire departments. I was talking about what gives our fire department that local, hometown feel. I certainly wasn’t trying to insult you. I was actually trying to compliment our fire department. But, I do feel bad that you misunderstood, and I hope that misunderstanding is cleared up. Second, as far as I know, with the exception of this comment here, the fire department has never engaged in the political end of this conversation, so my comments about fear mongering also were not directed at you or the fire department. My comments about fear mongering were generic to whom ever attempts to derail the citizens of Newberry from even having a conversation about how to pay for the fire department on the basis of scaring them away from the conversation. So, again, I apologize if you took those comments personally. They were not directed at you. The last thing that I feel comfortable talking directly to you about, since you are the lead negotiator for the Union, is the general tone of your response. I tried really hard in my posting about the fire department to be upfront with my own personal desire to have a local fire department while at the same time trying to have an objective conversation about how to pay for it and a discussion of our options. I think, in your response, you actually proved my point about how hard that is for us to do. We do have such an emotional attachment to our fire department that it is hard for us not to get defensive, jump to conclusions, make accusations, and see implications where none were meant. I’m well aware that in opening the door to the conversation most people will assume that my position is somehow against the fire department, but I think I’ve been pretty open about my bias to keep it local. And, as a resident, I’m entitled to my desire to have a local fire department. As a Commissioner though, it’s my job to ask the residents, the people who live and pay taxes in Newberry, what they want and how they want to pay for it. Again, I appreciate your comments, and if you want to pass off your role as lead negotiator to another fireman, I’ll be more than willing to engage with you in your other comments.
Thanks, cousin!
Jordan