We're trying something new. Please post comments to this blog entry as to why you think Consolidation would be a good thing for West Haven. (I've also added some posts from others - my apologies if I haven't attributed these ideas properly.)
You'll notice that we've set up a separate blog post for "Why Our Readers Feel Fire District Consolidation is Bad."
Unless you can show that something is flat-out untrue, please do not argue points in these comments as they will not be posted. In comments to this entry, only post your thoughts on why consolidation is good. I will pull these entries up into the main post.
Once we have compiled a list of thoughts on why Good and why Bad, we will start a new topic entitled "Weighing the Pros & Cons of Fire District Consolidation" to discuss and debate both sides of the issue, and hopefully to come away with a better understanding of the issues.
Summary of Points in Comments:
- GOOD: Less salaries as some roles (such as fire chiefs, secretaries, fire inspectors) may be able to be consolidated.
- GOOD: Less higher end administration may mean a reduction of the high end pensions.
- GOOD: Some functions (such as legal advisement) could be covered under City contracts at no additional cost to the fire budget.
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5 comments:
GOOD: Singular leadership at the top could mean reduction of high end pensions. (Admittedly debatable)
GOOD: 1 salary to pay for 1 fire chief as opposed to the current 3.
GOOD: Since response time may go up and resources would be strecthed the FD could focus on fighting fires and extreme medical emergencies. Rather than on home and car lockouts, leaving the work to the PD.
GOOD: Due to the threat of longer response time and resources being streched the FD would have to focus on strictly fire fighting and only extreme medical emergencies. Leaving problems like car and home lockouts to the PD.
GOOD: Financial control would move from taxpayers to City Council, this would hopefully facilitate more interest among residents in the city council process. There seems to be a ton of current interest from the residents when it comes to setting the fire tax annually.
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