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Officials say fire staffing wishes hinder district

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by Jeff Saunders

Reporter

Nordonia Hills -- Area officials who for months have been discussing ways to regionalize fire and EMS services say that a fire district would only make sense if it provided services above and beyond what's already offered by individual departments.

But they don't believe that residents dealing with the current economic recession would be willing to pay the increased taxes needed to provide such service.

That's the main reason, officials from Boston Heights, Northfield Center, Northfield Village and Sagamore Hills say, that they put the fire district proposal on the back burner when they met April 20.

"You have to do it with enough money to do it right. The economic times are not right for this," said Sagamore Hills Trustee Barrett, echoing the comments of several local leaders interviewed by the News Leader this past week.

Officials last week estimated that running the fire district they envisioned would require about $1.9 million, which Northfield Village Mayor Victor Milani said would equate to a new 3-mill levy.

The group for months had been operating under the assumption that a 2-mill levy, producing approximately $1.3 million annually, would be enough. In comparison, the 2008 budgets of the three fire departments that cover the four communities totaled about $1.5 million, according to Sagamore Hills township attorney Jeff Snell, who has been compiling the financial figures and acting as the group's moderator.

"I would not support asking for a 3-mill levy," Barrett said April 22. "That doesn't mean I don't support a district. I just can't see asking voters to approve a levy at this time."

The four communities currently pay for fire and EMS through a combination of taxpayers' levies, ambulance fees and other sources. The proposed 3-mill levy would replace the levies, but not the ambulance fees, which are for the most part paid out by insurance companies, officials said.

Most communities would see a cost increase under a fire district, officials predicted.

Snell said Sagamore Hills currently pays about $690,000 a year for fire and EMS, but under a 3-mill fire district levy, it would pay about $960,000, he said.

Boston Heights' 2008 budget, according to Snell, was $160,000, but village residents would pay about $213,000 under the 3-mill levy.

Boston Heights Mayor Bill Goncy said he feels the extra costs would be worth the benefit for his residents, but that the decision lies with the village Council as well as the other three communities.

Northfield Center Trustee Richard Reville said the township residents pay for fire and EMS through a 2-mill levy that raises about $350,000 annually. A 3-mill levy, however, would increase the cost to township residents to about $525,000, according to Snell's figures.

"It would be very hard for me to ask the voters for more money when the system is working now," Reville said. "We're conservative because of the economy."

Northfield Village residents would actually see a cost savings under a fire district, according to officials' projections. The village's fire department cost $445,000 to operate in 2008, and residents late last year approved a new levy that started producing an additional $112,000 this year. But with a 3-mill levy, residents would only have to pay about $225,000, officials estimated.

Milani, however, said that such savings for his constituents would matter little if residents in the other communities have to increase their share.

"Why put [a levy on the ballot] that's an insult to their intelligence and hasn't got a chance to pass?" said Milani.

Adding up the costs

Currently, Northfield Center -- which covers Sagamore Hills -- and Northfield Village employ a total of five firefighters on duty at all times, while Boston Heights uses service workers, as well as firefighters called from home, to respond to fire calls. Macedonia handles the village's EMS calls.

But fire district study group member Northfield Center Fire Chief Robert Derrit said that for a fire district to cover the four communities at an acceptable service level, it would need at least eight firefighters/EMS staffers on duty around the clock. By employing part-time personnel with limited benefits, Derrit estimated this would cost roughly $1.4 million per year.

"The big cost of running a fire department is personnel. Everything else is relatively minor," he said.

Northfield Village Fire Chief Gary Vojtush noted there would be additional personnel costs, which have not been calculated, for command staff and support employees, such as a secretary.

Group members added to this $150,000 to $250,000 they estimated would be needed each year for capital improvements, such as equipment and vehicles.

Lastly, officials said they have yet to come up with the amount that would be needed for the utlities and other costs of operating fire stations, as well as some kind of cushion to allow for future cost increases.

E-mail: jsaunders@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3169