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Cumberland County proposes regional fire/EMS coordinator to expand joint training and grant work
Summary
County staff proposed hiring a regional fire/EMS coordinator, to be hired with input from town fire chiefs, to run joint firefighter/EMT trainings, coordinate purchasing and pursue grants; committee members pressed for measurable deliverables and accountability.
County staff presented a plan to add a regional fire/EMS coordinator position intended to convene town managers and fire chiefs across Cumberland County to coordinate training, joint policy development and grant applications.
Jim McGailey said the draft strategic report and a facilitated planning session showed town managers and fire chiefs "felt as though a regional coordinator, being staffed by the county would be a, the number 1 priority for the region." He told the committee the county would seed the program with professional-services funds (about $55,000 in the executive budget) and expected some town-level contributions for training classes (staff estimated firefighter 1/2 classes could be "$20,000 a class" in professional-service costs).
McGailey said the county would not unilaterally hire for the role: he told the committee that the chiefs would lead the hiring recommendation and the county would sit in on the process because the position would be a county employee.
Committee members welcomed the concept but repeatedly pushed for clear deliverables and evaluation measures. One member asked whether the role would "sunset" after 5 or 7 years if it did not produce measurable results; another pressed that political bodies (town councils and select boards) should set high-level policy and use the coordinator to implement agreed goals. Janice Dilema asked whether the county would track effectiveness for any fundraising or grant-writing duties and cited the Public Health Office (built up with ARPA funds) as an example of measurable growth and benchmarking.
Staff said the position would likely start in the executive office (with a July 1 effective date if the budget supports it) and could transition to the emergency-management office as the program matured. The county plans to use the public-health incubator model as a blueprint for initial oversight and to ask the fire chiefs to guide hiring and expectations.
Members also discussed the range of county-provided regional services (assessing, general assistance, animal control studies) and suggested the coordinator could catalyze other cooperative services where towns request support.
Next steps: the committee asked for more detail on deliverables and timeframes during subsequent department briefings in December and January so elected officials can evaluate accountability and return-on-investment before any hiring decisions.
