Fire Department Staffing, Costs Debated at Special City Session

CAPE MAY – The City of Cape May has one of the few paid, career fire departments in the county. For several months, the community has pressed city council to examine departmental staffing levels.
The discussion began during the budget cycle when former council member Jerry Inderwies Jr. objected strongly to City Manager Bruce MacLeod’s proposed budget, which reduced the department’s salary budget by $70,000. Since then discussions of the budget support for the department have been a continuous feature of council meetings.
In the March public budget hearing at Convention Hall, Mayor Edward Mahaney promised a comprehensive study of the manpower and equipment needs of all public safety departments. The pressure to act more expeditiously on fire department needs led to a change of course.
Council moved away from earlier plans to bring in a consultant for the study and also realigned the initial focus to the present resources and potential needs of the fire department instead of all public safety areas.
Council established a committee to review fire department staffing and operations. Committee members included MacLeod, Council members Shaine Meier and Beatrice Pessagno, and Fire Chief Alexander Coulter. A May 26 public meeting of the committee was structured to provide a baseline of information to the public as the committee began its work. The group is expected to report back to council by July.
The current department staff level is 14 full-time staff including chief, deputy chief, three lieutenants, and nine firefighters. The staff handles all services including emergency medical services. Coverage is provided by shifts of four per 24-hour period with the next 48 hours off. That consumes 12 of the 14 staff with the chief running the department and the 13th person filling in regularly on whatever shift is short-staffed based on vacation schedules.
The volunteer fire department supports the staffing. One problem giving rise to the public concerns about overall staffing levels is precisely the shrinkage in certified and capable firefighters in the volunteer company. The number of volunteers has decreased slightly over the last five years. More importantly, the number certified and of an age to be used in the full range of firefighting activities decreased significantly. Today, the volunteer department has only four of its 18 members fully certified with one more currently in fire school.
The volunteer department, much like the general population, has aged. An additional problem, raised by Pessagno and Meier when they ran for office in November, is the high cost of living in the city. Real estate values make it difficult for younger families to afford Cape May and thereby reduce the pool of individuals for things like the volunteer fire department.
Beyond career firefighters and the volunteers, the other line of defense for the city in fighting fires is through mutual aid relationships with largely volunteer departments in nearby municipalities. Additionally there is the small company maintained by the Coast Guard base.
MacLeod presented numbers of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)-certified firefighters at potential mutual aid departments within a 10-mile radius of Cape May.
The first help that the department can expect is from the Coast Guard followed by West Cape May. The committee looked at recommendations from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that call for 15 firefighters to respond to a structural fire involving a 2,000-square foot, two-story residence.
When fully deployed, the first response is from Cape May itself, then from the Coast Guard followed by West Cape May, would closely approximate the recommended staffing.
What was not discussed at all during the three-hour meeting was the issue of response time given that the full complement of staff comes from various sources. Additionally, West Cape May is a volunteer department, which would require time for firefighters to get to its firehouse before responding.
The clear preference of the public was to increase staffing levels of the career department. That presents problems not just of an ultimate increase in costs but also of the budget cap and its impact on the ability to pass costs on in terms of increases in the tax levy.
MacLeod walked through budget and cost figures. His calculations projected that the full cost of a new hire, even at entry level, would run an average of $75,000 counting benefits, training and equipment as well as salary.
Due to the tourist season, the department was increased by seasonal staffing. Even that did not allay concerns of most in attendance. There was a strong expression of support for moving as soon as possible and finding ways to do this that would not be hampered by the incremental nature of the budget cycle.
Coulter produced an internal, 210-page study available on the city website.
A letter in that report, dated Feb. 6, reiterates his call for an increase in staffing from 14 to 17 allowing five personnel per shift.
He states that such an increase would be “the beginning to the eventual increase in staff” overcoming years aimed at getting the department to “the proper staffing level.”
Coulter’s report also deals with the wider range of fire incidents the department must respond to beyond the often used example of a residential structure fire.
Some in the audience pushed committee on budget issues where claims were made that the needed monies could be saved. These comments included links to the ongoing discussions about legal expenditures in the city.
Others raised the possibility of outright donations with one individual expressing willingness of an anonymous donor to pledge $70,000 if the council matched it.
MacLeod pointed out the complexities involved in offers of that type given the budget process and the requirement for matching funds.
If it were not for a claim on the room by the city Planning Board, it is not clear that the discussions would have ended after three hours.
Coulter’s report can be found at: http://goo.gl/zsehWo (case sensitive).
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.