Clock Is Ticking On Consolidating 4 Pottstown Fire Companies

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POTTSTOWN, PA — For more than three years, borough government has been urging Pottstown’s four independent fire companies to come up with some plan for consolidating.

Earlier this month, the clock started ticking for real when the borough issued a letter to all four companies notifying them that the fire service agreement between them and the borough would be terminated at the end of the year and starting in 2015, the borough will only sign one fire services agreement with a single, consolidated fire company.

Unlike the police department, fire protection in Pottstown is not under the direction of borough government, but instead is provided by four independent volunteer fire companies over which Pottstown Fire Chief Richard Lengel has operational control during a fire.

But in matters of their own affairs, such as finances, the election of officers and the like, the fire companies are independent.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140722/clock-is-ticking-on-consolidating-4-pottstown-fire-companies

Duggan To Take Bankrupt Detroit’s Oath Of Office

DETROIT (AP) — When Mike Duggan is sworn in as Detroit’s mayor shortly after 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day, he’ll begin a four-year term with limited powers in an insolvent city whose finances are controlled by a state-appointed overseer.

He plans to start work immediately, holding initial staff meetings Wednesday at City Hall. But Duggan already has been busy on Detroit’s behalf since voters elected him in November.

The former Detroit Medical Center chief has attended a meeting of new mayors hosted by the White House, put together his own administration and lobbied with emergency manager Kevyn Orr for a greater role in the city’s immediate turnaround.

“He’s been engaged on issues and has been preparing to hit the ground running,” former Detroit Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said of Duggan.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/news/1094513/Duggan-to-take-bankrupt-Detroits-oath-of-office

Blaze Destroys Mahanoy City Firetruck, Guts Fire Station

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A fire that broke out this morning in Mahanoy City destroyed an aerial truck and gutted the historic fire station, hours before a parade of 485 vehicles was to commence in celebration of the community’s 150th anniversary and annual firefighters convention.

The fire broke out at about 4:35 a.m. at Washington Hook and Ladder Co., producing heavy, black smoke and extensive damage to the brick structure in Schuylkill County.  The aerial truck, which The Pottsville Republican Herald reports cost $249,500 in 2011, also was destroyed.

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene, fire officials said Saturday morning.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-mahanoy-city-fire-truck-blaze-20130824,0,7659768.story#ixzz2ctxxU37N 
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Fire Rips Through Morgan Corp. Building

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An intense fire swept through an industrial building in Caernarvon Township late Thursday afternoon, spewing a cloud of heavy black smoke and leaving the facility a tangle of twisted metal.

Fire broke out shortly before 4 in a paint shop at Morgan Corp., which manufactures the box, or container, section of delivery trucks for Penske, Ryder and other corporate trucking fleets.

Brian McCafferty, the company’s risk management director, said the cause had not been determined.

No one was injured, he said.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=412401

Former Coatesville City Manager Discusses His Termination

Editor’s note:   Sounds so familiar!

COATESVILLE, PA — More than five weeks after he was fired, former City Manager Gary Rawlings discussed recently why he was let go, the situation with the city’s police department and other issues.

City Council never provided the public with a specific reason as to why they terminated Rawlings on June 11. Rawlings said he, too, was never provided with a reason from council for his eventual dismissal.

“I was never given a reason and can only assume,” said Rawlings, who served as manager for 13 months.  “I guess it was that they were unhappy with my style.  But I tried to draw a line between my responsibilities and theirs based on the city charter.  When it came to personnel matters, I told them they had to stay out of it or else they could get in trouble.

”Rawlings said council was “too involved” in the day-to-day management in the city.  He said the council never set goals for him even though it was part of his contract.  He said council should “set goals and then step back” when hiring a city manager.  He said the next manager will also need more time to develop.

“Thirteen months is not enough time to judge someone’s management style,” Rawlings said.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120723/NEWS01/120729924/former-coatesville-manager-discusses-his-termination&pager=full_story

City Of Reading Needs More Cops, Police Chief Warns

Despite needing 174 officers this year and budgeting for 168, the Reading Police Department has fewer than 140 officers able to do their full jobs, Police Chief William M. Heim told City Council on Monday.

And the Reading Fire Department is down seven firefighters from its already pared force – a gap being filled by mandatory overtime because the firefighters are too tired to volunteer for it – acting Fire Chief Jeffrey Squibb said.

Mass retirements have plagued both departments, and council asked the chiefs what their needs were for the city’s safety. The question was partly a reaction to council’s earlier, grudging approval of two new hires for the mayor’s office.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=380219

Reading Fire Department Gets Grant Of Nearly $1 Million

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The Reading Fire Department has won a grant of nearly $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer announced Thursday at his third-in-three-days public meeting about reopening the 2012 budget.

The office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called him late in the afternoon to announce the city had been approved for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $999,781, Spencer told about 50 people at the Historical Society of Berks County, 940 Centre Ave.

He said he was told it was by far the largest of 10 grants totaling $1.56 million awarded to fire departments in the state. Casey is a Scranton Democrat.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=360291

City Of York Mulling Fire Company Regionalization Option

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The City of York, PA has four fire stations and a staff of 67 firefighters.  However, like all municipalities, York is looking at ways to cut costs.  Kim Bracey, York’s Mayor, said she will not close/merge any fire stations or cut staff if it will cut response time.  However, Mayor Bracey said the Fire Committee is looking into options like regionalization and cooperative agreements with other fire services organizations, including volunteers.

Emergency services costs are a big-ticket budget item and Bracey said city government needs to be responsible stewards of the taxpayer’s money.  If working together as a regional fire department can achieve the same high-quality results, at a lower cost, that option needs to be explored.  It has worked for many police departments.  York County already has regional police departments.  The Fire Committee will present their fire/EMS modernization plan to the public on April 5^th.

The City of York has 43,718 residents (2010 census) and a land area of 5.20 square miles.  Mayor Bracey was the city’s Community Development Director before being elected mayor.

Phoenixville Fire Companies To Consolidate

Okay Pottstown…let’s get on the consolidation bus too!  We can’t afford four fire companies anymore!

Read all about it in the Phoenix:

http://phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2011/03/05/news/srv0000011077764.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Pottstown Is Not The Only Municipality With Fire Department Budget Woes

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Pottstown has struggled with its Fire Department budget for some time.  The debate over merging fire companies to cut overhead has been suggested.  Currently Pottstown has four fire companies with paid drivers and administration.  The majority of the firefighters are volunteers.  The borough gives the four fire department money and pays the health insurance for the drivers.  Each fire company must then raise any additional funds themselves.

Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Allentown have obviously larger fire departments with more paid staff.  Volunteerism is down.  A huge problem these three cities have experienced is a drastic increase in overtime.  Scranton’s Fire Department racked up just under one million dollars in overtime for 2010 (more than double what was budgeted).  The Scranton Fire Department had a budget of $14.3 million for 2010.

Allentown’s Fire Department overtime budget was blown in 2010 when $1.4 million was spent on overtime.  Wilkes-Barre spent $322, 958 on overtime which was nearly double what was budgeted.

A big culprit is sick time.  Sick time use in Scranton has been rising for the last three years.  When one firefighter calls out sick, another firefighter is called in and paid overtime to cover the shift.  Scranton is changing their schedules, minimum manning requirements per shift and instituting fire company brownouts to save money this year.  Only $83,950 was included for Fire Department overtime in the city’s $74.9 budget for 2011.

The Scranton Fire Department blames being a 168 man department with only 150 firefighters on the payroll.  Overtime was being used to “make up the difference”.  Like Scranton, Allentown also has minimum manning requirement per shift which contributes greatly to their overtime.  Wilkes-Barre Mayor, Tom Leighton said his city experiences a 25-30 percent call off rate in every shift, which burns up overtime.

In Scranton, the average firefighter costs the city $84,000 in salary and benefits every year. This will increase substantially after the arbitration award kicks in.  Mayor Chris Doherty’s salary and benefits come to about $65,000 per year, as a point of reference.  Firefighters get 18 sick days per year, which can be accrued up to 120 days, 240 days or unlimited, depending on their hire date.  Firefighters get paid for unused sick days at the termination of their employment.  They are reimbursed anywhere from 25 percent to 100 percent, depending on their date of hire.

I hope Pottstown Council carefully studies these issues before making the paid drivers employees of the borough.  If this comes to pass, we need to learn from these three cities to avoid a bill we cannot afford.

Harrisburg To Layoff 10 Firefighters

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Mayor Linda Thompson announced today that she has formally notified 10 city firemen they will be laid off early in 2011. 

Mayor Thompson has also announced the closure of one fire station.  This will leave Harrisburg with 74 Fire Department employees and one less fire station. 

The union, Local 428 of the International Association of Fire Fighters has cost saving ideas that could save $1.5 million dollars and avoid layoffs or closing a station.

Council is still reviewing Thompson’s $6.9 million dollar fire budget.  They should complete their review on Monday.

Pottstown Borough Budget Meeting

Today, November 30, 2010 at 6:00 pm, Pottstown Borough Council and borough staff discussed the proposed 2011 borough budget.

I must commend Jason, Janice, Councilor Weand, the Finance Committee and our borough staff for the effort they put into finding ways to cut costs and maintain services.  I do not think it is possible to ask Jason a question he can not answer.  Janice Lee has more than earned her salary by walking into the abyss aka borough finances and taking the bull by the horns!  So much has been accomplished to get our financial house in order.  As I said in an earlier post, accounting is boring to write about however, the changes implemented by Jason, Janice and Finance will pay huge dividends down the road.  We now have a clearer financial picture than ever before.  Frankly, things are not all that bleak now that Generally Accepted Accounting Principals have been returned to borough hall.

Council asked some tough questions of Jason, Janice and the department heads.  I was impressed with how well the questions were answered and the manner with which our borough staff handled themselves.

The bottom line is that council unanimously approved the 2011 budget with a 3.1% tax increase.  The increase equates to $25.66 per year on a home assessed at $85,000.  We have a $177,000 deficit that unfortunately makes this necessary.  The increase can go down if more spending cuts are found or unexpected revenue comes in before the end of the year.  However, the increase can not go any higher than 3.1%.  The projected property tax collection rate is 92% for 2010.

Getting to a zero tax increase would mean selling a park, laying off Parks and Recreation staff, cutting programs or messing with the paid driver’s health benefits in the Fire Department.  Our parks are a big plus for existing borough residents and attracting new residents.  We can barely maintain our parks system with the staff we have and cutting programs affects the quality of life for our residents.  Fire Department drivers can not afford to pay their health benefits at their current salary levels.  It is not their fault costs are skyrocketing.

The assessed value of all Pottstown real estate came in a million dollars higher than projected which also helped the process.  The rate of decline in assessed property value seems to be leveling off and council is hopeful that this trend may reverse itself as some development projects in the pipeline are completed.  Unfortunately, the assessed property value of Pottstown still declined $1.9 million dollars from last year.  This brings in less tax revenue. 

PCTV has agreed to reduce their management fee to $331,000.  The borough can ill afford to absorb their $147,000 revenue shortfall so going forward they need to break even.  PCTV has lost revenue because of the recession and now when FIOS comes to Pottstown, Verizon will not allow PCTV to be a for-profit community access channel.  PCTV could potentially lose 25% of their viewers as residents switch from Comcast to Verizon.  Council will be scrutinizing PCTV very closely in 2011.  PCTV is trying to get grant money, however, until such time as a grant is received, they will still continue to struggle.