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Idea Of Fire District Consolidation Met With Doubts From Fire Officials
By Keith Hagarty
Telling The Jackson Times that the administration is always on the lookout for new ways to save the township money and improve services, Mayor Mark Seda wants to have a feasibility study conducted to review whether Jackson's four fire districts would be more effective and cost-effiicent if they were consolidated.
"I feel it is my duty to look at every aspect, including fire, first aid and police, and how we operate the township," he said. "In order to do that- and I'm no professional firefighter, so I couldn't tell you for example if we needed a new truck or don't need a new truck- but in order to do that, I need a feasibility study done from a company that looks at fire companies all the time."
Seeking new ways to try and uncover cost-savings for the town should always be at the forefront of the administration's agenda, much like any good business owner would do, according to Seda.
"I run my own business, and on a daily basis I look to cut costs wherever I can, where it makes sense," he said. "So if I run my own company like that, why wouldn't I also try to run the township that way?"
However, after meeting with Seda to discuss the issue last week, officials from the Cassville Volunteer Fire Company, District #2 aren't convinced consolidation is a good idea for the town.
"The meeting last Tuesday night (with Seda) was informative, but overall disappointing," Fire Chief Matthew Genovese told The Jackson Times. "The mayor came to us to ask for a letter of support for a study to be conducted to see if consolidation of the fire districts is beneficial. Personally, I do not feel like the mayor was there to listen to us as much as tell us what he wanted."
Cassville Assistant Fire Chief John Alchevsky agreed.
"With my years in the volunteer fire service since 1978 in this town, I find the mayor's approach and methods to this to be a bit naively overzealous and nonsensical," said Alchevsky.
While several fire officials do not agree with the idea of conducting a feasibility study, Genovese noted that it is their own personal opinions and not necessarily the official position of the fire company.
Over the last month, Seda has met with the town's fire commissioners to discuss his plans for the feasibility study, which the mayor admits have been met with mixed feelings. However the commissioners soon saw the value of at least undergoing a study to try and uncover any cost-saving measures that could possibly be implemented, according to Seda.
"Overall they seemed to cooperate and say, 'Hey look, do your study. We kind of have an idea where it's going to go, we kind of know that it might not be feasible, but you're right- in an effort to save tax dollars, let's look at it,'" said Seda.
Seda is also in the process of scheduling forums to meet with the remaining fire companies to discuss the feasibility study even further. So far, the Cassville Volunteer Fire Company has been the only fire district that met with him.
"They were very discontent with even the
concept of consolidation," Seda said of Cassville. "That may be do to a lack of understanding of
how it really works, or what my intent really is. But my intent is only to study it and see if it saves any money … doing the study doesn't mean that it's inevitable that we consolidate. It has to be proven out in the study."
Fire Companies Sound Tax Alarm
Genovese believes the administration's plans go even further than merely consolidating the fire districts.
"It is their intention to not only consolidate the districts but for all of the districts to be dissolved and to create a municipal fire department that
would fall under the township's budget instead
of being a separate taxing entity," he contends. "This potential outcome is the one that we are
most against."
Leaving the fire district's budget in the hands of the governing body is not an appetizing thought for Genovese.
"A municipal takeover creates a situation where the fire service is no longer guaranteed a certain amount of funds for equipment and operations," he said. "It would take all of the fire tax dollars that are currently earmarked entirely for the fire service and roll them into the overall municipal budget and leaves the career and volunteer firefighters in town at the mercy of the town council to determine what our priorities should be and how much should be spent on equipment, apparatus and staffing."
With the fire districts already doing a fine job of managing their funds and service, Genovese doesn't understand why they would even need to hold a feasibility study.
"Our fire tax dollars are currently being managed by our elected fire commissioners and they are, in most cases throughout the township, doing a stellar job of being fiscally responsible while at the same time being extremely responsive to the needs of the fire service," said Genovese.
The taxpayers of fire district #2 would feel the brunt of any potential consolidation, warns Genovese.
"Our taxpayers pay only $0.09 per $100 of assessed value in fire tax. That is by far the lowest fire tax rate in the township," he said. "If the districts were consolidated into one fire district, the average of all the fire tax rates is about $0.17 per $100. Our taxpayers would be subject to a near 100 percent increase in their fire tax rates, and they will not be getting anything better in return. To us, it doesn't make any economic sense. Our district has been extremely fiscally conservative."
Backlash Was Surprising
Seda was surprised to hear about the level of backlash he's received from firefighters about even the idea of a study.
"Nobody likes change," he said. "I don't care what you're looking to change. For example, if I look to change the color of the police uniforms, then 50 percent of the police officers would probably be upset, while 50 percent would be okay with it, because nobody likes change, but the fear of change stops progress."
Nothing has been made official, Seda reiterated, adding that any potential feasibility study wouldn't cost the taxpayers a dime.
"All I asked was that each (fire) district submit a letter to my office, so that I can submit that letter to the state so the state can send us a grant of twenty-something thousand dollars, so that we don't have to pay for (the feasibility study) by Jackson's taxpayers," said Seda. "All it's going to do is study whether consolidation makes sense, whether it doesn't make sense, because I couldn't tell you right now."
Out of the four fire districts Seda spoke with, he received three letters to be forwarded to Trenton, with the Cassville Fire District being the lone hold out.
"That's okay," said Seda. "They can send a letter saying they disagree with the study, but they wish to move forward with their cooperation, but as of date for whatever reason, I have not received anything."
Mayor Asks For Patience
Seda asks for patience from the fire officials with doubts, and to wait and see what the study has to say before staunchly opposing it altogether.
"I understand their concerns, and am not looking to come in and pretend I have all the answers. do not. That's why I want to study it," he said.
While it is well within the rights of the mayor to push the feasibility study forward through to the township council without even contacting any of the fire districts, Seda said he never contemplated going that route.
"Over the next four years, there are many changes that we have slated, but it does not necessarily mean those changes are going to happen without the consent of the people," said Seda. "Obviously I want their input, I want their consent, and I do not want to destroy the volunteers of this town, and that was my sole purpose of going to them to discuss it with an open mind."
Proceeding with the study without garnering any input from those that it could affect most was not the message Seda wanted to send out to the public.
"I want to do it in a fair and open process so that we can all discuss what changes we're going to make if required or necessary, and who knows, maybe the study comes back and says, 'Look, all four districts are running at their peak of efficiency and it makes no sense to consolidate'", said Seda. "Well if that's the case, then I'm not going to consolidate, but I still need to know where we're at as far as services."
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