Though expecting to lose about $80,000 in expected income next year due to Initiative 747 and falling investment interest rates, the three commissioners of Fire Protection District 3 agreed last week to reimburse district volunteers a higher rate and pay more in stipends for administrative help.
At the same time, they slashed at the district’s staff development, legal fees, and a line item for a $4,000 riding lawnmower Thursday night as they tried to budget for 2002.
Working from a preliminary budget document that predicted $1.77 million in revenue and $1.04 million in expenditures, commissioners Bill Benjamin, Mike Helland and Bob Elliott spent more than two hours looking for places to make up for the I-747 losses. With one new fire station under construction in Freeland and another facility planned for the Bayview area, the lower income number could make it difficult to continue building, according to district Chief Don Smith.
To get that money back within the budget’s constraints, Commissioner Bill Benjamin said there will have to be some budget cuts.
“The taxpayers are maybe telling us to tighten the belt a bit,” Benjamin said.
The district is not hurting for money, at least when it comes to fighting fires, assisting accident victims, and responding to medical emergencies. Smith said the district’s operational expenses have not been more than 50 to 60 percent of total income over the past few years. The situation allowed FD3 to bank a good deal of money to replace fire trucks and fire stations — something that will be more difficult to afford in the future.
Also confounding the commissioners’ desire to trim the budget was a need to better compensate volunteers and to pay for additional administrative help. For the second time in three years, the commissioners verbally agreed to raise the amount of money paid to volunteers when they respond to an emergency call.
Three years ago, that amount was $5 per volunteer per call. After Thursday night, the figure could jump from $6.50 to $7.50. The district also plans to lay out about $18,000 next year for its duty officer program, and about $31,000 in stipends to be paid to four volunteer administrators for the district’s rescue, EMS, high school volunteer, and public education programs.
Smith said these expenditures became necessary when it became clear that the district’s three full-time officers could not do all the work required to operate the district and still respond to emergency calls.
By the end of Thursday evening commissioners had found little financial wiggle room. With emergency responses expected to top 1,300 next year, figures for gasoline, medical supplies, maintenance, electricity, and 911 dispatching services were not targeted for cuts. However, the commissioners did direct Smith to whittle away at the amount of conferences and travel in the district’s $48,000 staff development account.
“This is where we have a little pork anyhow,” said Commissioner Mike Helland.
Smith will prepare a requested budget for the district’s next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 13. The commissioners will approve a budget at that meeting.
