Fire or Rescue in a 21^st Century City

  The biggest item on your tax bill over which you have local control is the Fire District Tax and you will have a chance to make changes there at the next City Election.  Bonita Springs has some of the finest firefighters in the nation. They are well trained, well paid and operate a fleet of eleven state of the art, big red trucks.  Many cities larger than us operate with less than five trucks. Our firefighters look good, but the trouble is we don’t have enough fires.

•  Bonita Springs Fire and Rescue responded to 5,183 calls for service last year, only 193 were fire incidents   3,765 or 73% were medical emergency calls.

• A study by the News-Press shows that Lee County taxpayers are paying up to $100 million dollars more than Collier and Charlotte Counties for service largely because we are staffed and equipped to responds to all calls as if they were a fire.

•  Per capita spending for fire service nationally is $106.  Bonita Springs spends $698 per resident. 

• Weston Florida a City of 65,000 residents operates with four fire trucks and responds to medical calls with ambulances staffed with paramedics ready to transport you to the hospital. 

•  Bonita Springs has no ambulances and responds to all emergencies with paramedics on fire trucks and depends on Lee County to provide ambulance service with only two units located in Bonita Springs.

 If you or a loved one had a heart attack which would you prefer to see arrive at the front door first?  A firefighter/paramedic on a big red fire engine or a Paramedic with an ambulance who can take you to the hospital?

 Obviously Bonita needs more EMS/ ambulance service and far fewer fire trucks, yet the current board recently purchased a $700,000 heavy rescue truck and they plan to buy a new $900,000 ladder truck.

 Most emergency service personnel police, doctors, nurses, etc. provide 24 hour coverage by working a normal shift and go home to sleep.  Firefighters work a 24 hour shift which requires them to sleep and eat on the job; it does not make them more efficient especially while they are sleeping.  If we put firefighters on a schedule like other emergency workers this would allow management to staff more efficiently and the taxpayers would not have to build $6 million dollar fire stations that look like a luxury hotel.

 If you or a loved one had a medical emergency in the middle of the night who would you prefer the 911 operator call a Firefighter-paramedic asleep in the fire station or paramedics cruising in an ambulance perhaps in your neighborhood.

 Would you prefer a Firefighter who is also trained as a paramedic or a Paramedic who is also trained as a firefighter?  Which of these mindsets best serve the public need in 21^st century America?

 You have been told the existing fire board has reduced your Tax Rate.  This does not mean they have reduced taxes; in fact they will collect 2.2 million more this year than last year.

• Salaries and benefits for Bonita Springs fire department are among the highest in the nation. Bonita Springs spent $15,633,808 on salaries and benefits last year.  Divide that by 124 department personnel and the average cost to you, the taxpayer, is $126,079/year for each employee.

• Fire department personnel can retire after 25 years of service with 83 % of their salary and a guaranteed 3% increase each year for the next 17 years. Retired personnel retain full benefits for the whole family for the rest of their life.

             Demands made by the firefighters and their union are not challenged by anyone representing you the taxpayer.  Who is to blame for this mess? With out a doubt, the five member board of fire commissioners elected to oversee the operation of the Bonita Springs Fire and Rescue District. The existing board of fire commissioners refuses to listen to independent consultants who are critical of our fire and rescue methods and our level of service. 

  At the next City Election you will have an opportunity to change this Board.   New candidates could represent a dramatic change in the way Emergency Services will be provided to you in 21^st century Bonita Springs.  A new majority of three on the five member fire board will bring you lower taxes and the state of the art emergency services you deserve. These services should include:

• Mobile ambulance units located throughout the city staffed with Paramedics anticipating your needs, not parked in a fire station.

• Paramedics also trained as Firefighters “Public Safety Officers” paid reasonable salaries and working reasonable schedules.

• Fire fighting equipment and other emergency equipment strategically located throughout the city to give maximum efficiency at lower cost.

 A “Public Safety Officer” is a well trained paramedic who patrols the streets in a vehicle equipped to administer emergency aid and transport victims to a trauma center. They are trained in all types of fire and rescue techniques able to meet the fire truck at the scene and perform all the necessary duties.

 “Public Safety 0fficers”  in a 21^st century city can be called upon for any type of public need out on the streets ready for action they can serve as the eyes and ears of the police department rather than watching television in a fire station.

 The objective of a new Board of Commissioners would not be to cut salaries or skimp on equipment and training but to grow the current personnel into the much bigger job they are already being paid for and are fully capable of doing.  It will be the new boards challenge to guide and motivate our current personnel to reach their full potential as guardians of the public safety.