Aug. 16—WATERFORD — Emotional warnings about potential deadly consequences have paused a plan to save money in the Waterford Fire Department by increasing reliance on volunteer firefighters and neighboring departments.
Village Board members agreed to postpone action Monday after the community's fire chief and others cautioned that the strategy would dilute already-thin service on fires and ambulance calls.
Fire Chief Kevin Hafemann recounted a recent ambulance call in which the patient waited 26 minutes for an ambulance from a neighboring community because budget cuts have left the Waterford department understaffed.
Hafemann told village trustees they should not reduce the budget crunch to statistics on a sheet and forget that firefighters deal with life-or-death emergencies involving real people — and sometimes their next-of-kin.
"You don't hear the screams," the chief said. "You don't have to talk to the loved ones."
Fire Capt. Reed Johnson called the new staffing plan shortsighted, saying that current manpower levels already are too low. Life-saving efforts would be hampered even more, Johnson said, under the new approach.
"I'm terrified of telling someone that their loved one is gone because we didn't have enough staff," Johnson told the Village Board.
Village Board members voted unanimously to postpone action until after seeking the fire chief's input about staffing levels.
Village Administrator Zeke Jackson had submitted the proposal to control spending on fire protection by maintaining reduced staffing levels while also working to boost the volunteer ranks and sharing resources with neighboring fire departments.
Jackson did not address the Village Board during Monday's discussion.
Village President Don Houston, however, defended the village administrator against criticism that his plan would sacrifice public safety for the sake of money.
"Zeke is doing his job," Houston said, "keeping the budget where it's supposed to be."
The village this year is operating on a budget of $16.5 million, down from $20 million last year. The fire department budget was trimmed from more than $1.4 million to less than $1.3 million.
The department includes four full-time and 35 part-time firefighters. Staffing at the firehouse has been reduced to three people on weekdays and two on weeknights and weekends — half of what staffing levels were a year ago.
Firefighters and paramedics sometimes must wait for neighboring mutual-aid departments to respond before crews can enter a burning building or begin extrication at a traffic crash.
Village Board members last month agreed to consider a public referendum, possibly next April, seeking authorization to increase property taxes for the fire department. State-imposed tax caps limit a municipality's ability to raise property taxes without such voter approval.
Jackson then submitted his plan to adopt new standards based on estimates that the department averages just one structure fire a month and two ambulance calls a day. The strategy would keep two employees in the firehouse, and supplement that with more volunteer firefighters and new consolidation with neighboring fire departments.
Hafemann called the new standards ill-conceived, saying they would aggravate current staffing problems. He told the board that he was not consulted about the proposal.
"You never even spoke to me," he said. "How do you not include a fire chief?"
Others joined in urging the Village Board to reject Jackson's plan.
Janice Piper, chairwoman of the Waterford Fire Commission, which oversees hiring in the department, recalled her own medical emergency three years ago. The ambulance arrived at her house with five paramedics and other staff on board, which she credited with saving her life.
Even if the department averages only two such calls a day, an emotional Piper said, the village must provide enough resources to ensure that life-saving efforts are not hindered.
"Calls have names. Calls are lives," she said. "They're not just calls. They're people."
In agreeing to postpone action on Jackson's proposal, village trustees also distanced themselves from the village administrator.
Trustee Troy McReynolds called it "ludicrous" that Jackson submitted the staffing strategy without first consulting the fire chief.
Trustee Adam Jaskie said the village administrator does not speak for Village Board members.
Board members, however, also urged the general public to ease up on criticizing village officials for their handling of the fire department issue.
"It's pretty easy to vilify us," trustee Pat Goldammer said. "Tone it down a little bit."
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