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Council to split cost with neighbor for fire-services study to assess consolidation options
Summary
Swarthmore will enter a 50/50 intermunicipal agreement to fund a consultant-led fire-services study (anticipated under $40,000 total) to inventory equipment, response times and staffing and recommend options for regionalization or operational changes.
Swarthmore Borough officials said they will enter an intermunicipal agreement to split the cost of a consultant-led study of local fire services with a neighboring municipality.
Councilors described statewide declines in volunteerism and said local companies are increasingly short-staffed. "We've been having collective discussions with our colleagues ... and we have come to the conclusion that we would like to hire a gentleman by the name of AJ McCarthy to do a fire study on behalf of us and Nether Providence Township," a council member said. The transcript indicates the total cost is expected to be under $40,000 and the borough's share will be 50 percent.
Officials said the study will be practical and data-driven: it will inventory duplicated equipment, identify equipment needs, count calls and quantify how often trucks are put on the road, and identify where failures in response occur. The consultant told councilors that, provided fire companies deliver requested data promptly, a report could be available by spring. Council members emphasized the study is intended to inform possible structural options (from shared leadership to other regionalized arrangements) rather than to mandate immediate consolidation.
Council requested a two-page intermunicipal agreement documenting the scope and cost-sharing to be presented for action next week.
