City to study fire department needs, costs

Firm to look into way to possibly reduce its $2.1 million annual budget

City commissioners on Monday paved the way for future improvements in the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, approving a study by a Washington, D.C. public safety firm.

In a unanimous vote, commissioners agreed to pay $49,760 for a comprehensive analysis of fire services, which fire officials have said has not changed in Mt. Pleasant over the past several years.

In hiring the Center for Public Safety Management to complete a comprehensive analysis of the city’s fire services, commissioners hope to address changes in fire services and look at ways to possibly reduce the roughly $2.1 million the city spends on fire services annually.

City Manager Aaron Desentz told commissioners that Mt. Pleasant’s business model for the fire department has remained the same despite dramatic changes, including an estimated 70 to 80 percent of calls being medical.

Mt. Pleasant’s fire department employs 10 full-time and 16 paid, on-call firefighters, Desentz said, adding that the review of fire department practices is long overdue.

He also said he is confident a study would help bring down costs, including future equipment replacements to keep up with services that city residents expect.

In its proposal to conduct the study, CPSM Director Thomas J. Wieczorek said the study is designed to provide the city with a “thorough and unbiased analysis of emergency services” by using a “unique approach by combining the experience of dozens of emergency services subject matter experts.

“The team assigned to the project will have hundreds of years of practical experience managing emergency service agencies, a record of research, academic, teaching and training, and professional publications, and extensive consulting experience from hundreds of projects completed for municipalities nationwide,” Wieczorek said in the proposal.

“The team we assemble for you will be true ‘subject matter experts’ with handson emergency services experience, not research assistants or interns.”

Currently, the CPSM is conducting a similar analysis for the city of Midland, Desentz said.

Before approving the budget amendment to pay for the study, Commissioner Maureen Eke noted the importance of the city’s fire department being up to date, and asked that the city also look into any environmental impacts associated with firefighting. “It is important for us to have efficiency,” Eke said. “If this will help us get there, I’ll vote for it.”

The next step in the process is the CPSM team is the project launch, followed by information gathering and data extraction.

After analysis and certification of the data, the team will deliver a draft data report, followed by a departmental review of the report before a final report is issued.

An on-site visit will be scheduled, followed by a draft operations report before a final report is issued.

The process is expected to take between 105 and 170 days, according to CPSM.