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Bluff firefighter urges town to plan for local fire protection as county shifts services
Summary
A longtime Bluff firefighter warned the Town Council that county plans to return emergency services to towns could leave Bluff unable to sustain a local department without proactive planning and funding; the council agreed to meet with the speaker and explore options.
Gary Lichtenstein, a Bluff resident and firefighter since 1998, urged the Bluff Town Council on Dec. 10 to take responsibility for designing and funding future fire protection rather than waiting for county proposals. "Hope is not a strategy," Lichtenstein said, warning that the county administrator had signaled an intent to turn emergency services back to the towns.
Lichtenstein told the council the town lacks the administrative structure to spend funds allocated for truck and equipment maintenance, inspections, accounting and related operational needs. He estimated that a town of Bluff’s size could generate about $12,000 in local taxes for a fire department and that liability insurance alone would cost roughly $3,500 a year. He also noted that SAFER grants can fund staff temporarily but typically require the town to provide ongoing funding after a three-year grant period.
Council members thanked Lichtenstein and said they were not ignoring the issue, noting difficulty in communicating with the county. A council member invited Lichtenstein and staff to meet and strategize options for Bluff rather than "react" to county proposals.
The council did not take formal action during public comment; members said they would follow up with staff and interested community members to clarify funding options and next steps.
