March 14--Property owners in Jeannette won't confront higher insurance bills if voters decide to abolish the paid fire department and replace it with volunteers, a city councilman said.
Gabe Homan is researching whether Jeannette, with a force of three paid firefighters, could save money by switching to an all-volunteer force to determine whether the question should be decided by a referendum in the November general election.
In addition to the paid force, the department relies on standby firefighters who are paid for responding to calls or manning the fire station.
The Insurance Service Office fire protection rating group lists Jeannette as a class five on a scale of 10, Homan said. The group rates every municipality in the United States and assigns a rating that companies use to determine the fire insurance premiums for property owners.
The higher the rating, the poorer the service. Jeannette's midscale rating means the transition to an all-volunteer firefighting force would not affect insurance rates, Homan said.
However, insurance rates would double if voters decided on a mix of paid and volunteer firefighters, he said. If voters decide to rely solely on volunteers, the city likely would have to build a second fire station to supplement its city hall station.
Homan expects to make a recommendation by June. Council then will have to decide whether to put the question on the general election ballot.
Disbanding a fire department is not easy, Homan said.
The city of Uniontown laid off seven firefighters in 2008 and 2009, recalled them, then furloughed them again. The union filed an unfair labor practice against the city, and an arbitration panel ordered the firefighters recalled. In addition, they were given annual pay raises of 3.5 percent over a four-year period.
If volunteers are used, Jeannette will have to accelerate its annual pension payments for the paid firefighters, he said.
Whether the city can afford to maintain a paid fire department has been at the center of the debate over finances. Homan and Mayor Richard Jacobelli said last year that they would study the issue if elected.
Council budgeted $290,00 this year to run the fire department and must pay $89,000 to the firefighters pension fund.
If the question makes it on the ballot, no transition could take place until 2018 when the contract with the union expires.
Richard Gazarik is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-830-6292 or [email protected].
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