Dave Hays, Director of Emergency Services for Washington County government spoke to GHC members about the current status of fire and emergency medical services in our county and the staffing and funding challenges we are facing.
A year ago, Washington County implemented Phase 1 of a strategic firefighter staffing Plan to help volunteer Fire companies fill staffing vacancies due to diminishing volunteer service. This resulted in 23 part-time paid firefighters at a cost of over $500k to cover service hours needed at various companies. While this has helped in the short-term, staffing challenges still remain and are growing. Phase 2 calls for the county to provide enough full-time paid firefighters so every volunteer company would have one paid firefighter around the clock. If implemented, 60 full-time firefighters would be needed to place just 1 driver at each of our 15 county stations costing $4.5M/yr.
If this cost wasn’t challenging enough, keep in mind that doesn’t include the emergency services (ambulance) side of the equation which is also struggling with staffing and volunteers. Phase 2 of the Emergency Services Plan to have at least one paid EMS person around the clock is another $2.5M. This month 4 volunteer companies asked the county for funding to implement Phase 2 in their communities.
As more taxpayer money is requested, many questions arise:
*Where does the funding come from? (note: it would take a 6-7 cent tax hike to generate $7M/year for Phase 2 Fire & EMS plans)
*Is there even a labor pool to fill paid positions?
*Will more paid staff encourage or diminish volunteerism?
*How do the City stations fit into this discussion?
*How do we increase transparency in not only county funds, but the other funds companies raise on their own?
*How do we change service area boundaries to fit the best response times for citizens when most companies want to keep them the same do to fundraising?
*As we grow and more companies are added, how do we adjust service area boundaries?
*How will we balance the legal independence of a volunteer company and the county’s ability to provide oversight of increasing tax dollars?
*If a company’s leadership mismanages operations resulting in the county revoking their license, how will that company’s assets and facilities be used when they are independently owned?
*How do we handle the lack of infrastructure at some companies to house staff?
However things end up, the future cost of providing Fire and EMS service will continue to rise and our community needs to come up with a plan to handle it. If you were unable to attend the meeting this month to hear Dave’s presentation you will find his powerpoint presentation under the Publications section of our website.