Mich. Consultant: Train Cops as Firefighters

March 09--ST. JOSEPH -- St. Joseph firefighter Jason Yonker believes that the traditional fire department, with crews waiting for the alarm to sound, is going the way of steam pumpers and horse-drawn wagons.

"This breed is a dying breed," said Yonker, a member of the committee studying the city's safety services. He made the remark following a consultant's report Thursday on the police and fire departments.

Other members of the committee apparently agree, and they are recommending that the city have police trained to help fight fires and that St. Joseph sign on with Berrien County's central dispatch center.

"In your professional opinion, will having police officers trained in firefighting provide a safer environment for our residents?" City Manager Frank Walsh asked Leonard Matarese, who is with the International City/County Management Association.

"There's no question about it," responded Matarese, whose firm was hired by the city to compile reports that considered consolidating the police and fire departments.

Having cross-trained officers will get more qualified personnel to the scene of a fire quicker, Matarese said.

"Is it a more efficient way of operating?" Walsh asked.

Again, Matarese answered yes.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend to city commissioners that a public safety department be established. Eight members voted in favor of the transition to central dispatch, with police Sgt. Steve Neubecker and Officer Bryan Elliott abstaining.

"St. Joseph's a perfect fit for (a public safety department)," said the chairman, Milt Agay, a St. Joseph resident and chief of the Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Department.

Other residents on the committee are Bill Marohn (who participated by speaker phone), Deb Koroch, Bill Hanley, Kathy Burczak and Chad Mandarino.

Koroch did not attend the meeting but voiced her support for both a public safety department and a switch to central dispatch in an email, Agay said. The recommendations now go to the city commissioners, who meet at 6 p.m. Monday. With their approval, it will be up to city staff to revamp safety services, Agay said.

Busy 33.5 minutes a day

ICMA's report portrayed a fire department that was busy an average of 33.5 minutes a day. Firefighters responded to 195 calls between Nov. 1, 2010, and Oct. 31, 2011, including eight structure fires and 19 outside fires. The calls included 23 received on Sept. 30, 2011, during a windstorm, and 38 false alarms. The department also responded to eight mutual aid calls, all to Benton Harbor.

Matarese recommended closer cooperation, and even sharing training with Benton Harbor, which recently adopted the public safety model.

The St. Joseph Fire Department did 138 rental inspections, taking up 67 hours not included in the total calls for service.

Police officers appeared to have time on their hands as well.

The industry standard is to have police officers busy on calls for service 60 percent of the time, Matarese said. His report showed St. Joseph cops "way, way, way below that," at closer to 30 percent.

Officers on patrol respond to calls on average once every two hours, according to the ICMA report.

That shows that they have time to do other things, such as respond to fire calls, Matarese said. And since most of their calls aren't emergencies, they could drop what they're doing and get to a fire, he added.

Spending $1.4 million for fire protection in St. Joseph is "not sustainable" economically, the consultant said.

Firefighter and committee member Jim Crow had no comments on the findings of the report. "I think it speaks for itself."

More and more small communities are contracting with larger departments, using paid, on-call firefighters or creating public safety departments with cross-trained officers, Matarese said.

Walsh said that Greenville, Mich., one of the cities the committee contacted, keeps no firefighters at its station, and spends half of what St. Joseph is proposing for its safety department even though it has more people.

Even though St. Joseph is offering to maintain jobs and benefits, it is stalled at the negotiating table with firefighters, the city manager said. Police have approved contracts that endorse a public safety department.

Matarese said St. Joseph's plan to have two firefighters at the station at a time is a good one, but he would make even deeper cuts.

"Without cooperation, we may have to," Walsh said.

After the meeting, Walsh said the city has offered to keep nine firefighters, with Yonker, a former cop, transferring to the police department.

Crow, the newly elected union president for the firefighters, confirmed that this offer had been made.

Central dispatch

Joining Berrien County's central dispatch center was Matarese's strongest recommendation.

It's dangerous for St. Joseph officers not to be part of the countywide system, because it creates "a hole in the middle of the donut" when they try to communicate with surrounding agencies, Matarese said.

The idea of joining central dispatch came up after the safety committee had been formed and provided another opportunity for the city to cut costs.

St. Joseph is the only community in the county besides Niles that is not part of the system. Making the switch will save the city $300,000 a year.

The city has four safety dispatchers, who would not be guaranteed positions with the county. Two full-time jobs in both the St. Joseph parks and water departments, and one part-time position at City Hall, are being held for those employees if their present jobs are eliminated, Walsh said.

Police Chief Mark Clapp said making sure those people have jobs, at no additional cost to the city, was important to him.

"It might not be the jobs they want, but the point is they can continue their employment with the city," Clapp said. "That put my mind to rest substantially."

St. Joseph is under economic pressure from several sides to make changes, Clapp said.

St. Joseph has seen its state revenue decline, while costs for benefits such as pensions have increased, Clapp added. "Losses going up, revenue going down."

The city looked at installing its own computer-aided dispatching, but its needs didn't justify the expense, Clapp said. And the city doesn't have the money to keep up with other emerging technologies, he said.

Walsh pointed out that 75 percent of 911 calls in St. Joseph come from cellphones, calls that already automatically go to the county dispatch center.

Walsh said this is the most important committee work he has seen in his decade and a half as city manager.

He estimated that, with the commissioners' approval, it would take about a year to get all officers trained in firefighting and to make the transition to a public safety department. He's hoping to cut $500,000 annually from the city's safety budget.

"There's a lot of work to be done. The work hasn't actually started," Walsh said. "The main aspects of this are that it provides a safer community for residents and it keeps everyone employed."

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Copyright 2012 - The Herald-Palladium, St. Joseph, Mich.