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Joint staffing deal between Fairborn, Beavercreek Twp. could expire

Beavercreek Twp. trustee says firehouse agreement with Fairborn costs township too much money

Matt Clark (left to right) and Tyson Dean, Beavercreek Twp. firefighters, and Mike Kincaid and Lt. Adam Howard, Fairborn firefighters, interact in the firehouse on 2200 Commerce Center Drive in Fairborn. Firefighters from both Beavercreek Twp. and Fairborn staff Station 2 in Fairborn as part of a joint staffing agreement, but a township trustee has pushed to get out of the pact because of the costs.

Staff by Jim Witmer Matt Clark (left to right) and Tyson Dean, Beavercreek Twp. firefighters, and Mike Kincaid and Lt. Adam Howard, Fairborn firefighters, interact in the firehouse on 2200 Commerce Center Drive in Fairborn. Firefighters from both Beavercreek Twp. and Fairborn staff Station 2 in Fairborn as part of a joint staffing agreement, but a township trustee has pushed to get out of the pact because of the costs.

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 11:02 PM Saturday, January 9, 2010

BEAVERCREEK TWP., Greene County — One of Ohio’s first joint firehouse staffing agreements will end in February, three years after it began, because a township trustee says the partnership is too costly to continue and neither of the departments’ unions can agree on staffing standards.

Trustee Bob Glaser spearheaded a 2-1 vote in September to end the agreement that jointly staffs Fairborn’s newest station at 2200 Commerce Center Blvd. He said it has cost Beavercreek taxpayers more than $1.5 million in the past three years that could be better spent elsewhere.

“As a Beavercreek Twp. trustee I cannot take taxpayer money and subsidize the Fairborn fire department,” Glaser said. “It’s a net loss to Beavercreek and a giant subsidy to Fairborn.”

Beavercreek Twp. supplies the ambulance and Fairborn the engine at the fire station. Since the majority of the calls are for medical emergencies, Glaser said, township taxpayers carry an unfair burden of the expenses. He estimates it cost the township about $750,000 a year and argues the station is not necessary because the hundreds of homes it was supposed to serve in the northeast part of Beavercreek Twp. have not materialized due to economic conditions.

Trustee Bob Stone said he voted with Glaser to end the agreement, not over costs, but because the Fairborn firefighters union will not allow part-time Beavercreek firefighters to staff the building. He doesn’t believe Glaser’s numbers tell the whole story.

“It’s hard to calculate,” Stone said of the costs and benefits. “I didn’t see it include the cost of a fire station. Fairborn is probably winning the battle monetarily, but in the same token, I know what it would take to build a fire station out there.”

Supporters of the pact, including Trustee Carol Graff, said Glaser’s numbers are either inflated or do not take into account the benefit township residents gain from having a new fire station and the protection of a fire engine. They want to modify the agreement.

“I think remodeled we would come out pretty even,” Graff said, adding “cooperative efforts” are important to all governments’ future.

In Montgomery County, Vandalia and Butler Twp. are preparing to jointly staff two stations under a similar type of agreement to increase protection and save money, said Rich Hopkins, Vandalia spokesman.

It’s a growing trend said Mark Roberts, president of the Ohio State Firefighters’ Association, because budget cutbacks are forcing departments to look at new ways to provide services more cheaply. “You’ll see departments being more and more creative,” Roberts said.

Backers of the Fairborn agreement have proposed modifications they say can make the deal more equitable to both sides.

“I think after a couple of years it’s good to reanalyze and make improvements,” said Debbie McDonnell, Fairborn city manager. “They (Beavercreek Twp.) haven’t been using us as much as they could have been. That’s not our fault.”

McDonnell says Beavercreek Twp. should be calling more often for the Fairborn fire engine that the municipalities share as part of deal. “They’re not using the (fire engine) to its fullest ability,” she said.

Fairborn fire officials estimate 61 percent of the more than 1,500 calls in 2007 and 2008 were to Fairborn for medical emergencies. Glaser said Fairborn is making thousands of dollars through medical billing for these calls, while Beavercreek taxpayers foot the bill for staffing, supplies and maintenance of the ambulance.

Glaser estimates that the township also could save overtime costs — on top of the $750,000 annually he says the deal costs taxpayers — if firefighters are brought back to the other four stations.

Firefighter unions from both municipalities also have told elected leaders that the deal should end for a variety of reasons, including that Fairborn’s union will not allow part-timers from Beavercreek Twp. to be in the station’s staff rotation.

The 2-1 vote to end the pact, with Graff in opposition, came just weeks before voters approved a permanent fire levy to help fund operations and future station improvements. The Beavercreek trustees and Fairborn council members met in December to discuss modifying the pact before it ends Feb. 2. Another meeting is expected this month.

Other options being discussed are for Beavercreek to collect more medical billing money, a revision of the districts where the fire station responds and allowing part-timers to work in the station as long as they have the same level of training as full-timers, Graff said. Fairborn has yet to work out the last issue with its union.

Fairborn City Manager McDonnell said if the agreement ends in February, the city will be forced to move apparatus and possibly limit how the station is used because the city cannot afford to hire more firefighters to staff it.

McDonnell and other Fairborn officials say they want to keep the agreement going, even over the objections from their firefighters’ union.

“I believe it is management’s decision on how to best serve the public,” McDonnell said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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