Volunteer fire department reforms

Volunteer fire department reforms a long time coming

by Deborah Nelson
March 11, 2007

Volunteer fire department reform proposals, introduced last month, would increase tax dollars going towards the agencies, introduce a new element of public oversight…and officials say, streamline and improve emergency services countywide.

Santa Rosans who live in MSBU volunteer Districts (there are eight, plus the Town of Jay) currently pay $30 per year towards emergency services for single-family dwellings; a rate unchanged since 1998. Total tax payments are capped at $450 for any one owner.

Commercial properties less than 5,000 square feet pay $37.50; and larger than 5,000 square feet, $150.

For example, the Pace WalMart pays $150 per year. In contrast, the Gulf Breeze WalMart (serviced by the non-MSBU paid Midway department) pays over $11,000.

Agricultural land pays nothing towards fire service.

Under proposed rates, homes with 0 to 1,500 square feet would pay $75 per year; 1,501 to 2,500 would pay $85; 2,501 to 3,500 would pay $95; 3,501 to 5,000 would pay $110; 5,001 to 7,500 would pay $200; and 7,501 and above would pay $300.

“We wanted to take a fairer approach to this, and we did it by square footage,” notes Emergency Services Coordinator Brad Baker.

“The larger your house, the more fire apparatus is going to be required to put that [fire] out, the more water we’re going to have to have, the more personnel we’re going to have to have.

“So if you have a larger house, it only makes sense that you pay more money for fire protection, versus someone who has a small, thousand or 1,200 foot house, he adds.

Commercial and multi-family structures 10 units and over would pay .05 cents per square foot. Multi-family homes less than 10 units would pay $75 per unit. Agricultural and vacant lots would pay $10 per one-acre parcel and .02 cents per acre over the first acre.

Tree farmed property would pay $10 per the first 200 acre parcel and .15 cents per acre over 200.

Recreational vehicle parks would pay $30 per lot.

Emergency officials have been working to update the MSBU taxing structure for over two years. Emergency Services Advisory Council (ESAC) officials, in a 2004 report to Commissioners, warned that current MSBU revenues are not keeping up with training and equipment needs.

Challenges being faced by departments include strained budgets, inadequate equipment, lack of volunteerism, insufficient water supplies and a variety of other obstacles, say officials.

Meanwhile, training requirements and expenses continue to increase.

The minimum required training time for a volunteer firefighter was 40 hours in 1999, says Baker. Now, it’s 200.

Call loads, gas prices, insurance rates, equipment prices have gone up, Baker notes, and new national fire protection association requirements go into effect this year. That means safety equipment must be upgraded or replaced.

Due to increases in fuel costs and other factors, most volunteer departments stopped running low priority calls in 2005.

Officials say they hope the new plan will allow departments to ramp up availability for lower priority emergencies.

“Part of our plan is they will go back to running all but the lowest priority call, to get our first tier system back to where we want it,” says Baker.

Pace and Skyline departments are looking at moving to paid daytime staffing, Baker says, which would make personnel available during the day, without a volunteer call up.

“This will dramatically decrease our response times in those areas,” he notes. Those paid personnel could also be dispatched to other jurisdictions, as needed. The new plan calls for “no boundaries” changes, where personnel from one district may be called to respond in another.

Departments may also institute paid stipends, to improve recruitment.

Fire rescue operations fall under a “two-in two-out rule.” If two firefighters are inside a burning structure, two must be available outside for rescue operations.

The plan would pool spending on expensive capital items, like firetrucks, and spread costs among Districts. Indications are that County staff may process big-ticket purchases.

High-volume agencies would then shuffle older equipment to smaller departments, as new items come in, to extend equipment lifespans.

“Instead of us getting ten years service in Pace and a worn out engine company,” Baker predicts, “we can spread that out and maybe get 15, 18, and may be even 20 years out of that engine, if it is maintained properly.

“If we left it in Pace we may only get three, five years, depending on which station it’s out of. Consolidating purchasing will allow for better equipment standardization, says Baker.

“That’s a key thing for us,” he observes.

“Anywhere we go in the department, we want to be familiar with the equipment, be utilizing the same kind of stuff, just make it a more efficient system.”

Officials say they’re hoping consolidating departments will bolster recruitment efforts. Volunteers have been sparse in recent years, with training requirements and expenses on the increase.

Volunteers who work during the day have also reported problems getting time off to respond to emergency calls.

“We feel like if we can do something county wide, then we will gain more volunteerism,” says Baker.

“The guys that are out there right now…they put heart and soul into protecting this community and I’d like to thank each and everyone of them personally for that,” Commissioner bob Cole remarks.

“Because if it wasn’t’ for these volunteers that we’ve had all these years, if we’d have had to go to a paid fire department years ago, we’d really see a cost increase.”

Bringing Santa Rosa’s independent volunteer departments together was no easy task.

“Fire chiefs are notorious for having turf battles. Next to commissioners, they’re probably the worst in the county,” Commissioner Tom Stewart remarks.

“But I was in that meeting and I clearly saw a support amongst the fire chiefs of our MSBU Districts that I never seen before…I believe they are ready, willing to put forth a huge effort, together to solve long term problems.”

“Did we ever think we’d see a day when we could get all the fire departments to come together, and for this many chiefs to agree on one plan to go forward with for the future of the fire service in Santa Rosa County,” Jay Fire Chief Tony Simmons remarked,

“Personally I didn’t think that would probably happen…we’re probably working closer together now, because of this, than we ever did before. And I think we’re willing to continue that.”

Departments are currently structured as independent, non-profit corporations. Each receives an annual MSBU tax allotment, pro-rated by population. Departments also maintain separate bank accounts for money raised on their own.

Each department’s elected Board of Directors oversees its own spending and operations. Before receiving MSBU money, however, departments must submit budgets to Santa Rosa’s Clerk of Courts, who also performs yearly audit reviews.

The new plan would consolidate the newly increased MSBU money into one lump sum.

An Executive Group composed of District fire chiefs; plus the County’s Emergency Services Coordinator and the Santa Rosa County Firefighters Association President would oversee spending decisions, although the FFA would not have an official vote.

The Emergency Services Coordinator job, slated to Chair the Executive Group, was recently created to improve coordination between departments and the County.

Once money is distributed to individual departments, oversight responsibility would switch to that agency’s Board of Directors. The Board approved the plan in concept, last month. Details will be finalized in coming months, say officials.

“This is just a framework. We will be coming back to the board as we flesh it out more specifically on the funding end of it and the accountability end of it,” notes County Administrator Hunter Walker.

Officials are optimistic the changes will improve area emergency services, and avoid the need for paid departments.

“As the fire chiefs, we’re looking at two things,” Simmons remarks.

“We want the safest that we could have for the people who are operating under our department; and of course that does mean probably we want the best equipment available when you start talking about someone’s life that they’re volunteering.

“And second of all let’s not lose sight that this is not just volunteers that’s asking for money, this is for the protection of the citizens of Santa Rosa county. In the long run that’s what it’s for.

“I do think we’ve come a long way. I think the plan is a good plan we’ve put together.”

The MSBU tax increase must go through a series of public hearings, before approval.