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Daytona Beach’s pilot program is not
complicated, and virtually everyone agrees with the basic tenets of FireTransport. Why then,
the opposition? The answer is “implementation methodology.” Opponants to the DBFD
FireTransport program cite one (or both) of the following two (2)
objections:
1. They want it "ALL-AT-ONCE". They do not want a small pilot program to
prove the benefits of FireTransport before applying the concept to the entire county...
they want to study it for a few more years (using expensive outside consultants) and then
design a program that ALL CITIES, the COUNTY, and EVAC will agree with, and then schedule
an implementation day upon which FireTransport would begin county-wide.
This "ALL OR NOTHING" philosophy has driven
officials to commission several studies, hire several consultants and facilitators, and spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last 15 years, yet we still have the same two-tier
EMS system we established over a quarter century ago.
2. They want it "ALL-IN-ONE”… some County officials favor a single
consolidated county-wide Mega Fire Department before allowing
FireTransport. Some even support an independent taxing district to fund this mega
fire department. But the recent tax reform movement and general distrust by voters
for any new taxes (even with the promise of revenue-neutral millage) makes such ideas
preposterous red herrings that only delay real opportunities for
improvement.
These opponents fail to acknowledge the
cooperative agreements between fire departments that already provide closest unit
response regardless of jurisdictional lines, and automatic
aid that routinely dispatches units from multiple agencies to fight fires that
would overwhelm the resources of a small department.
And they forget that in 1985 the Public
Referendum for Consolidation was soundly defeated. That with the exception of the City
of Daytona Beach and a small pocket on the south peninsula, all other areas of the County
(both municipal and unincorporated areas) voted overwhelmingly against
consolidation.
These opponents ignore the News-Journal April
27, 2010 article identifying the Volusia County Fire Service as the least
efficient compared with the 12 municipal fire departments’ average cost per
incident. So is bigger really better?
Most municipal officials favor more community
control and identity than afforded by a single one-size-fits-all mega fire department. Orange
County developer and published tax watchdog, Matt Falconer uses a 4-region approach to his
Orange County tax-savings proposal, stating, “…there is a point of diminishing
return during consolidation at which larger ceases to become more efficient, and instead
becomes overly cumbersome, inefficient, and wasteful.”
After studying the unique characteristics of
Volusia County, it appears 3-5 Functional Regions may offer the most efficiency if the
population distribution remains largely as it is today. This could be approached AFTER
implementing FireTransport, in a methodical evolution that addressed each community’s unique
needs prior to agreement.
Summary…
• Everyone agrees we cannot continue
as we have. The duplication of service in a Two-Tier system can no longer be
sustained.
• Everyone agrees for improved
efficiency, transport service must be incorporated into the Fire
Service.
• We agree that the Voters, and
elected officials have NOT supported consolidation for over 20 years, and that it is
unlikely a dramatic shift toward ALL-IN-ONE consolidation is likely within the next few
years.
• We
agree that after 20 years, despite numerous studies, consultants, facilitators, effort by
local officials and thousands of dollars, we still operate 12 separate fire departments
and each one must transfer patient care to a separate transport company… the biggest
example of fragmentation.
Ronald Reagan said:
“If we wait for all conditions to be perfect before we act,
we will never act.”
We can wait for another 20 years for a perfect plan that 12 different fire
departments and 16 governmental Commissions & Councils will all agree with
simultaneously…
...or we can be as bold as the County Council
of 1981, and start the evolution that has been so successful elsewhere in the state. We
can approve a FireTransport pilot program to be tested by Daytona Beach Fire
Department.
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