Bill Aims to Make Bellevue Have Paid Firefighters
By Kristin Zagurki
World-Herald Staff Writer
Published Thursday | February 1, 2007
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=2323138
Brian Staskiewicz, a hazardous materials supervisor for the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department, inspects the inside of a hazmat truck Tuesday at the District 2 station, 2110 Fairview St. The department opposes a legislative bill to switch to a paid department. But an Omaha state senator and the leader of the statewide fire union say the change is necessary soon to improve public safety in the city.
That's why the senator, Brad Ashford, said he introduced legislation that would require any first-class city with more than 38,000 residents to have a paid fire chief and firefighters.
Only two Nebraska cities meet that criteria: Bellevue and Grand Island. The latter has had a paid department for nearly 100 years.
The passage of Legislative Bill 607 would be a blow to Bellevue, which is struggling financially. A paid department would cost the city at least $6 million a year, Fire Chief Dale Tedder said.
Ashford said he introduced the bill after being approached by a family concerned about the Bellevue department's response times and by the Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association, a statewide union.
Ashford said he believes everyone in the Omaha metropolitan area should have access to equal public safety services.
"The City of Omaha, the City of Bellevue and, potentially, other areas in Douglas and Sarpy Counties should all have a professional, full-time fire department," he said.
The City of Bellevue opposes the bill because of its costs, said City Administrator Gary Troutman. "Due to our financial situation, we just can't swing that."
In addition, he said, the bill's effect would be bigger than its impact on city finances and the fire department, because it involves the state telling a city how to run one of its departments.
The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, which has seven full-time equipment operators, is rated Class 2. La Vista and Grand Island's departments both are rated Class 3, and Papillion's Class 4."It's not a fire department issue, it's a city issue," Troutman said.
Tedder also said he believes a community should be able to decide for itself when to switch from a volunteer to a paid fire force.
Bellevue's current property tax rate could not support a paid department, said John Collins, city finance director. In addition, the city faces cash-flow problems and needs to repay its wastewater fund more than $3 million it improperly used over the past decade to cover daily expenses.
The city will work with State Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue to oppose the bill, Troutman said.
A public committee hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 13.
Mike McDonnell, president of the Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association, said his group's issue isn't with the training of volunteer firefighters in Bellevue or elsewhere.
The issue is that it takes volunteers longer to reach emergencies than paid firefighters, said McDonnell, who also is president of the Omaha Firefighters Union. That's because when a call comes, volunteers must first go to the fire station and then to the call site, whereas a paid firefighter already is at the station.
Tedder agrees that firefighters get out the door more quickly when they already are at the station. But other variables, such as a station's location, also affect response times, he said.
"I think our response times are great, compared to everybody else in the county," Tedder said.
It took the Bellevue department an average of 5 minutes, 47 seconds to respond to a fire call in the city in 2004. That compared with Papillion's average that year of 3 minutes, 23 seconds and La Vista's average of 6 minutes, 54 seconds. More recent statistics were not immediately available.
Papillion, which has fewer than half the residents of Bellevue, has a half-paid, half-volunteer department. La Vista, which has one-third Bellevue's population, has an all-volunteer force but is hiring a paid chief.
The issue of whether Bellevue should switch to a paid department has been raised in the past, including after a fire there killed 10-year-old Lita Lee Virgilito in December 2002.
Lita's family was critical of the department's response time to the fire - the first fire engine arrived 11 minutes after being notified.
Lita's father, Jim Virgilito, said at the time that he didn't think the firefighters could have saved the girl. The home had no working smoke detectors, and the house was well on its way to destruction by the time a neighbor saw the fire and called 911.
McDonnell, of the statewide union, questioned at the time why Bellevue didn't ask the Omaha or Papillion Fire Departments, both of which had paid firefighters on duty, for help fighting that fire. Help was requested from La Vista's volunteer department.
McDonnell said this week that the bill isn't about any one city or incident.
State Sen. Don Preister, whose district includes part of northern Bellevue, is a co-sponsor of the bill. He declined to say this week why he believes a paid department is a good idea for Bellevue.
Cornett, Bellevue's other state senator, said she would work to oppose or amend the bill.
The city doesn't have the money to implement a paid department by Oct. 1, as the bill would require, Cornett said.
Even if funds were available, the city could not set up a testing process, screen applicants and hire them in a handful of months. "You're talking more than a yearlong process here," said Cornett, a former police officer.
Cornett believes the bill has widespread support in the Legislature, which is why she is working on amendments to ease the burden on Bellevue.
One idea would be to phase in the conversion: first hiring a chief, then paramedics and, finally, firefighters.
The bill requires cities to use a National Fire Protection Association staffing standard as a guideline.
McDonnell's group also worked with State Sen. Tom White of Omaha to introduce a legislative resolution that would require all paid fire departments in Nebraska to follow the standard, he said.
The standard does not suggest staffing levels based on population, nor does it say when a city should switch from a volunteer to a paid department, said Gary Tolke, a vice president with the association.
It says there must be a minimum of four firefighters per "company," or vehicle. It also says a department must be able to respond to 90 percent of its calls in four minutes or less.
For a city, such as Bellevue, with four fire stations, meeting the standard would require hiring a "significant number" of firefighters, Tolke said.
Grand Island, which also has four fire stations, employs 69 fire and rescue personnel, said Fire Chief Jim Rowell. The fire and rescue budget is $6.3 million.
Tedder believes Bellevue would need 96 firefighters - four for each of the city's eight firetrucks over three shifts. The department now has 146 volunteers, 100 of whom are "very active," he said.
If 96 firefighters were paid an average of $35,000 a year and given $15,000 in benefits, that would mean $4.8 million for payroll alone, Tedder said. That's not including salaries and benefits for a chief and other commanders or operating expenses.
The board of the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department voted last week to oppose the bill.
The city budgeted $1.74 million this year for fire and rescue services. That includes operating costs and salaries and benefits for six paid employees.
The city would have to come up with at least $4 million more each year to run a paid department, under Tedder's projected cost.
Ashford said he is aware of Bellevue's financial problems but said a paid department still needs to be discussed.
"I look upon this as really a big issue," he said, "and not just an issue about Bellevue's finances and their inability or ability to do something this year."
By Kristin Zagurki
World-Herald Staff Writer
Published Thursday | February 1, 2007
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=2323138
Brian Staskiewicz, a hazardous materials supervisor for the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department, inspects the inside of a hazmat truck Tuesday at the District 2 station, 2110 Fairview St. The department opposes a legislative bill to switch to a paid department. But an Omaha state senator and the leader of the statewide fire union say the change is necessary soon to improve public safety in the city.
That's why the senator, Brad Ashford, said he introduced legislation that would require any first-class city with more than 38,000 residents to have a paid fire chief and firefighters.
Only two Nebraska cities meet that criteria: Bellevue and Grand Island. The latter has had a paid department for nearly 100 years.
The passage of Legislative Bill 607 would be a blow to Bellevue, which is struggling financially. A paid department would cost the city at least $6 million a year, Fire Chief Dale Tedder said.
Ashford said he introduced the bill after being approached by a family concerned about the Bellevue department's response times and by the Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association, a statewide union.
Ashford said he believes everyone in the Omaha metropolitan area should have access to equal public safety services.
"The City of Omaha, the City of Bellevue and, potentially, other areas in Douglas and Sarpy Counties should all have a professional, full-time fire department," he said.
The City of Bellevue opposes the bill because of its costs, said City Administrator Gary Troutman. "Due to our financial situation, we just can't swing that."
In addition, he said, the bill's effect would be bigger than its impact on city finances and the fire department, because it involves the state telling a city how to run one of its departments.
The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, which has seven full-time equipment operators, is rated Class 2. La Vista and Grand Island's departments both are rated Class 3, and Papillion's Class 4."It's not a fire department issue, it's a city issue," Troutman said.
Tedder also said he believes a community should be able to decide for itself when to switch from a volunteer to a paid fire force.
Bellevue's current property tax rate could not support a paid department, said John Collins, city finance director. In addition, the city faces cash-flow problems and needs to repay its wastewater fund more than $3 million it improperly used over the past decade to cover daily expenses.
The city will work with State Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue to oppose the bill, Troutman said.
A public committee hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 13.
Mike McDonnell, president of the Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association, said his group's issue isn't with the training of volunteer firefighters in Bellevue or elsewhere.
The issue is that it takes volunteers longer to reach emergencies than paid firefighters, said McDonnell, who also is president of the Omaha Firefighters Union. That's because when a call comes, volunteers must first go to the fire station and then to the call site, whereas a paid firefighter already is at the station.
Tedder agrees that firefighters get out the door more quickly when they already are at the station. But other variables, such as a station's location, also affect response times, he said.
"I think our response times are great, compared to everybody else in the county," Tedder said.
It took the Bellevue department an average of 5 minutes, 47 seconds to respond to a fire call in the city in 2004. That compared with Papillion's average that year of 3 minutes, 23 seconds and La Vista's average of 6 minutes, 54 seconds. More recent statistics were not immediately available.
Papillion, which has fewer than half the residents of Bellevue, has a half-paid, half-volunteer department. La Vista, which has one-third Bellevue's population, has an all-volunteer force but is hiring a paid chief.
The issue of whether Bellevue should switch to a paid department has been raised in the past, including after a fire there killed 10-year-old Lita Lee Virgilito in December 2002.
Lita's family was critical of the department's response time to the fire - the first fire engine arrived 11 minutes after being notified.
Lita's father, Jim Virgilito, said at the time that he didn't think the firefighters could have saved the girl. The home had no working smoke detectors, and the house was well on its way to destruction by the time a neighbor saw the fire and called 911.
McDonnell, of the statewide union, questioned at the time why Bellevue didn't ask the Omaha or Papillion Fire Departments, both of which had paid firefighters on duty, for help fighting that fire. Help was requested from La Vista's volunteer department.
McDonnell said this week that the bill isn't about any one city or incident.
State Sen. Don Preister, whose district includes part of northern Bellevue, is a co-sponsor of the bill. He declined to say this week why he believes a paid department is a good idea for Bellevue.
Cornett, Bellevue's other state senator, said she would work to oppose or amend the bill.
The city doesn't have the money to implement a paid department by Oct. 1, as the bill would require, Cornett said.
Even if funds were available, the city could not set up a testing process, screen applicants and hire them in a handful of months. "You're talking more than a yearlong process here," said Cornett, a former police officer.
Cornett believes the bill has widespread support in the Legislature, which is why she is working on amendments to ease the burden on Bellevue.
One idea would be to phase in the conversion: first hiring a chief, then paramedics and, finally, firefighters.
The bill requires cities to use a National Fire Protection Association staffing standard as a guideline.
McDonnell's group also worked with State Sen. Tom White of Omaha to introduce a legislative resolution that would require all paid fire departments in Nebraska to follow the standard, he said.
The standard does not suggest staffing levels based on population, nor does it say when a city should switch from a volunteer to a paid department, said Gary Tolke, a vice president with the association.
It says there must be a minimum of four firefighters per "company," or vehicle. It also says a department must be able to respond to 90 percent of its calls in four minutes or less.
For a city, such as Bellevue, with four fire stations, meeting the standard would require hiring a "significant number" of firefighters, Tolke said.
Grand Island, which also has four fire stations, employs 69 fire and rescue personnel, said Fire Chief Jim Rowell. The fire and rescue budget is $6.3 million.
Tedder believes Bellevue would need 96 firefighters - four for each of the city's eight firetrucks over three shifts. The department now has 146 volunteers, 100 of whom are "very active," he said.
If 96 firefighters were paid an average of $35,000 a year and given $15,000 in benefits, that would mean $4.8 million for payroll alone, Tedder said. That's not including salaries and benefits for a chief and other commanders or operating expenses.
The board of the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department voted last week to oppose the bill.
The city budgeted $1.74 million this year for fire and rescue services. That includes operating costs and salaries and benefits for six paid employees.
The city would have to come up with at least $4 million more each year to run a paid department, under Tedder's projected cost.
Ashford said he is aware of Bellevue's financial problems but said a paid department still needs to be discussed.
"I look upon this as really a big issue," he said, "and not just an issue about Bellevue's finances and their inability or ability to do something this year."
