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Stone Harbor begins planning referendum to fund fully paid Fire and EMS department
Summary
Borough officials said Aug. 5 they are drafting figures for a referendum to exceed the municipal budget cap and fund a fully paid Fire and EMS department, citing declining volunteerism; officials said DCA guidance requires precise cost numbers before a ballot question can be placed.
At a Borough Council work session on Aug. 5, Borough Administrator Joe Clark said the administration is in early planning for a referendum to exceed the municipal budget cap to fund a fully paid, professional Fire and EMS department.
"The purpose of the Referendum would be to provide the residents of Stone Harbor with a Professional, fully paid Fire Department," Clark said, adding that he had met with the Auditor, CFO, and "DCA officials" to discuss requirements for the question. The transcript refers to that entity only as "DCA"; no expansion of the acronym was provided in the meeting.
Clark said the administration and Fire Department leadership agree a fully paid model would be ideal because volunteerism is declining and it is increasingly difficult for people to commit time. He said the administration decided against placing a nonbinding referendum on the ballot for now because the state-level reviewers require exact cost figures so voters know the dollar amount they would approve.
Councilmember Ken Biddick raised concerns about the practical challenge of producing fixed numbers, noting ongoing healthcare cost changes and annual salary increases that could complicate long-term budgeting. Councilmember Jennifer Gensemer said the Borough has sought guidance from "DCA officials" on prior personnel restructurings and described that input as expert advice that does not constitute decision-making authority: "[DCA officials] provided guidance and an expert perspective to the Borough at no cost on these issues, but does not have authority over the Borough in the decision."
The administration said it will begin the budget process promptly to develop the hard numbers DCA reviewers expect; no ordinance or referendum question was scheduled or voted on during the Aug. 5 session.
Next steps: town staff will refine cost estimates during the upcoming budget process and return to the council with figures that could be used in a future ballot question.
