Report Recommends Hamilton Merge Five Fire Companies
While each of the volunteer fire departments - Cologne, Laureldale, Mizpah, Mays Landing and Weymouth - would remain separate entities, there would be one fire chief and more standard procedures for things such as training and buying equipment....Continue Reading
The study found there is no standardized plan regarding fire vehicles.
"Each station manages their own schedule with a lack of standardized program focused on important goals, little application of the recognized standards and no benefit of any potential economies of scale," the study reads. "Instead, there are five fire companies doing their best to keep the apparatus assigned to their stations in the best condition possible with the funding available. Centralized management of a comprehensive vehicle maintenance program is sorely needed."
According to the study, one current problem involves the way vehicle maintenance records are kept.
"We never felt that we could tell what was being done to the individual apparatus," the study reads.
As for existing apparatus, the study suggests the township could save about $1 million over the next several years by not replacing some firefighting vehicles, with the remainder being distributed and used by the five fire stations.
The township is one of a growing number of local municipalities studying whether to merge all of its volunteer fire departments into one entity. It's something that some municipalities in several southern New Jersey counties already have done in an effort to bring more uniformity - such as in the type of firefighting equipment purchased - and cost effectiveness to fire department operations.
Like many New Jersey municipalities, the township depends on multiple volunteer fire departments to handle firefighting and emergency situations. While the departments run their own fundraising operations, they depend on municipal government to buy much of their equipment, including firetrucks.
Municipalities throughout New Jersey are trying to improve control over what they spend. Buying a fire truck or other equipment represents a significant taxpayer financed expenditure.
A report from the State Commission of Investigation, or SCI, says the purchase of firetrucks, some of the most expensive items municipal governments own, easily can overwhelm a small town's ability to ensure proper accountability and transparency.
SCI advised that the state Department of Community Affairs assume oversight and control of firetruck purchases, that firetruck companies be required to provide more detail on the apparatus, and that state and ethics laws be enhanced explicitly to cover local fire personnel to ward off collusion and conflicts of interest.
The company that performed the report for the township is run by Ted Lowden, the Evesham Township fire chief. He said when the study began that that consolidations have worked well in municipalities such as Evesham Township, Egg Harbor Township, Cherry Hill and Moorestown.
The study specifically cites neighboring Egg Harbor Township, saying the fire companies there are "satisfied with the manner in which the fire department operates as a whole."
E-mail Thomas Barlas: TBarlas@pressofac.com
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It's content and comments are not the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
