Nov. 19--A cool response isn't stopping Monroe County Fire Chief Jim Callahan from pursuing the same title in the city of Marathon.
Callahan was among 93 applicants for the city's vacant chief position last month, but his application comes with the caveat that he'd only be adding Marathon Fire Rescue to his current duties.
That idea didn't sit well with most Marathon council members, who've said they largely prefer the city hiring its own dedicated chief. William Wagner split chief duties in Marathon and Islamorada for three years, but that arrangement ended badly on Sept. 30 after Village Council members accused Marathon of taking advantage of a temporary situation.
Callahan, with County Administrator Roman Gastesi's blessing, submitted a proposal to Marathon City Manager Roger Hernstadt Wednesday outlining numerous services the county would provide for just $60,000 per year.
Gastesi, an outspoken advocate of public partnerships, said he's aware of the council's reaction to sharing another chief.
"I know that [Hernstadt] is very diligent in his calculating and evaluating business. We talked about it and he told me that he wanted to sit down with the chief to talk about what the idea was. We thought we'd put it on paper," he said. "It's a real number in that ball park."
Callahan agreed and said he hopes the city "will look at it and say it makes sense."
"It's very little money at this point. How I'm looking at it is adding two more fire stations, not hiring additional people. It's basically the management of those two fire stations," he said.
Services offered include Callahan as chief, Monroe County Emergency Manager Irene Toner in the same capacity for Marathon, all facets of operations, logistics and administrative support staff, fire and EMS training and certification, and a battalion chief 24 hours per day.
Hernstadt said he plans to review the proposal and meet with Callahan to discuss it. "Obviously, it'll be shared with the council and we'll see if they wish to give me any further instructions," he said.
If Marathon were interested, the county would likely receive backlash from unincorporated Monroe residents paying a much higher tax rate for the same service.
According to the county Office of Budget and Finance, residents in the Middle and Lower Keys Fire and Ambulance District 1 (all unincorporated areas south of Key Largo) pay $2.3799 per $1,000 of assessed property value for fire and EMS service. That equals $476 for the owner of a $200,000 house.
In Marathon, residents pay just $1.9999 per $1,000 of assessed value for the entire city. Of that, just 62 cents -- or 31 percent of $1.9999 -- is for fire and EMS services. That equals $124 for the owner of a $200,000 house.
But Gastesi said those figures are skewed because Marathon is more compact and developed than many areas of unincorporated Monroe.
"The cost of running the stations is I would imagine very similar. The costs don't change; it's how you generate the money. They charge less because they have a more concentrated tax base," he said.
"There will be people saying why are we giving Marathon sweetheart deal? My answer is I'm looking at it as a public safety issue," Callahan added.
According to Tax Collector Danise Henriquez, 37,039 parcels are slated to pay $9.9 million into the Middle and Lower Keys Fire and Ambulance District 1 in 2011. In Marathon, 10,635 parcels are expected to pay $3.6 million.
Meanwhile, Hernstadt said he's begun interviewing what will be as many as 10 candidates for the chief job. He said a short list of "three, maybe four" candidates should be ready by next month. "I'm hopeful to have a more detailed report for the council at the first meeting in December. I don't see any reason why that won't happen," he said.
Hernstadt is scheduled to give the council an update on the recruitment process at Tuesday's council meeting. It's scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Marathon Government Center.
