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Fire-district plan gets cool reception
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 03, 2010)
Fire-district plan gets cool reception
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
A meeting of the three communities covered by the Burton Fire Department is being proposed to discuss a proposed fire district.
Burton Township Trustee Chairman James Dvorak said Monday that a meeting with Burton and Claridon townships, as well as Burton Village, may be a good start to begin discussion on the taxing district, which will serve to increase pay for fire department members.
Burton Fire Chief Michael Sestak appeared before trustees Monday to state his case for the creation of the district, which would encompass the three communities.
As the situation exists now, he said, individual communities place levies on the ballot to support fire department operations. Mr. Sestak's proposal is to have a single issue on the ballot for all communities. He said the tax, which would divide the cost equally among the communities, would be used exclusively to increase pay rates for fire department members. He said he hopes to have the tax district in place by 2011.
The current rates are in the neighborhood of $7 to $8 an hour, he said, and he would like to bring them up to $10 to $12 an hour. He said the current rate is less than some fast-food restaurants pay and causes department members to leave.
He said firefighters and paramedics in the Chardon Fire Department are paid between $12 and $14 an hour.
"We can't continually train people and send them on their way," Mr. Sestak said. "Without increases, we'll have to go back to a volunteer operation and hope someone shows up."
Trustee Daniel Whiting said he has a "problem" with the proposal, because residents of the township already pay more for the service but do not put the same demands on the services as Burton Village, which pays less. More service calls, 51 percent, come from the village than the 23 percent in the township, he said.
Mr. Whiting said a user tax may be a fairer approach.
Mr. Sestak said the township pays more, because there are more people and property to protect than in the village and the distances for response are significantly greater in the township. He said the township has approximately $167 million in valuation, while the village has $10 million.
He said it's like an insurance policy, for which people pay more because they have more property to protect.
Mr. Whiting said he believes the costs should be based on the demand for services. "If we use more, we'll pay more," he said.
Trustee Ken Burnett said he also is concerned about whether the burden is unfairly placed on the township. "We want to help, but we've got to be fair to everybody," he said.
Mr. Whiting said he does not oppose getting better pay for Burton firefighters, only how it is being proposed. "I'm not debating that at all," he said. "I support you on that."
But Mr. Whiting said this is not a good time to seek more money from taxpayers, with many of them laid off from their jobs. "I don't want to have to go back and ask for more money, because that's where we're going," he said.
Mr. Sestak said the department now has 40 members, with 30 of them being paid. Some of the firefighters come from as far away as Fairport Harbor, Brecksville and Kirtland, he said. "None of us are doing it for the money."
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