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Fire department gets go-ahead to increase staffing
(by Joan Demirjian - December 09, 2009)
Fire department gets go-ahead to increase staffing
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
An increase in staffing for the Bainbridge Fire Department was approved Monday by Bainbridge Trustees.
As recommended by Bainbridge Fire Chief Brian Phan, two part-time firefighters will be hired for the nighttime shift, adding a fifth person to the staff.
The evening shift is from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Mr. Phan said the plan is to add a fifth person to the daytime hours, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Trustees Matthew Lynch and Jeffrey Markley voted for the hiring. Trustee Linda White said that, since she will not be in office when the plan is implemented, she would abstain.
Monday's decision to add the fifth person came after several discussions of the need to have five on duty, 24 hours daily and seven days a week. The first phase will begin Jan. 1.
Jamie Lukas, of Auburn, an emergency medical technician, and Brian Harting, of Bainbridge, a paramedic, will serve on the overnight shift.
The second phase of the plan would start in July 2010 with five persons on the day shift, Mr. Phan said.
For that to take effect, eight part-time people will have to be hired, he said.
The decision to staff the shifts with five people is a result of the recommendation of a consultant who looked at the department's needs.
The addition of another person to a shift will better serve the community, Mr. Phan said. With the addition, the department can send out a three-person engine and a two-person rescue squad on calls or handle simultaneous calls, he said.
The consultant found the department low on staff members in relation to the township population and the number of runs, Mr. Phan said.
And if the department's call volume increases and township population grows, they will consider six people to a shift in the future.
Mr. Phan said the department has $1.5 million in the bank, which had been set aside, partially for future station renovations or possible replacement of the station.
If he has to spend all of it, he said, the department will face a shortfall in its budget.
It will cost $90,000 to staff the night-time shift with five people for half the year, starting in January, Mr. Phan said.
When the second phase begins next July, it will cost $132,000 for 2010. And when five people are on staff around the clock for a full year, it will cost the department $175,000.
The department will be looking at the need for a levy, whether it is new or replacement, Mr. Phan said. "The last levy was in 1995, so we are doing pretty good," he said.
Mr. Lynch said there is $2 million set aside in estate tax investment funds for station renovations.
Mr. Phan said they do not know yet what will be done with the station. They are looking at whether to add on to the building or whether it would be more economical to take it down and build new, he said. That issue will be addressed next year.
Mr. Lynch said current incoming estate taxes could be used to cover the extra shifts, taking the department out to 2012.
Mr. Phan said the department is investigating other forms of revenue.
Right now, they need to take step one and implement the five-man rotation and tighten expenses, Mr. Markley said. One possibility is to look at additional ambulance billing in the future for new revenue.
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