Study shows long‑term costs to shift Harrison to more daytime or full‑time fire staffing; consultants recommend staged approach and cost‑share talks with Sherw

Consultants from McMahon presented preliminary findings of a fire‑department staffing and ambulance study to the Village Board of Harrison, showing response‑time patterns, multiple staffing scenarios and a proposed intermunicipal cost‑share formula.

Kevin Sloan, one of the consultants, summarized response‑time data drawn from county logs and said that some 2023 windows showed dispatch‑to‑arrival averages near 20–22 minutes, with 2024 figures improving to roughly 17.5 minutes in the data McMahon reviewed. "When you're looking at a window we when you're through to some kind of staffing model... you're looking at the time of dispatch then en route, and then en route to arrival," Sloan told trustees, emphasizing that the board should decide which interval(s) to use when setting expectations.

The study compared seven staffing models and presented four manageable options for immediate consideration: A) hire a full‑time training officer; B) add a daytime driver/operator and firefighter (part‑time pool) (illustrative cost ~$50,009.70 annually for option B); C) hire a training officer and add a daytime three‑person engine company (consultant‑favored staged model); and D) move to a full 24/7 professional fire department (current‑dollar estimate approximately $1.88 million annually for salaries and benefits). Consultants stressed these are illustrative templates and that an Excel tool will allow staff to re‑run scenarios with adjusted wages, call volumes and benefit assumptions.

McMahon also proposed a weighted cost‑share distribution for the three jurisdictions currently served by Harrison Fire: population, calls for service and equalized value weighted equally and area weighted at 10% (30/30/30/10). Using base 2025 numbers that formula produced a distribution of roughly 77.6% Harrison, 18% Sherwood and 4.4% Woodville for net operating costs; consultants said the weights can be renegotiated and recommended periodic 'true‑ups.'

On ambulance service, the consultants estimated startup capital and operating costs that put initial investment near $1 million in their model and warned that billing collection rates (estimated 43–50% of billed charges) mean ambulance operations are unlikely to be immediate net revenue sources.

Trustees and members of the public asked for clearer threshold metrics to trigger staffing changes (examples discussed included call volumes, weekday daytime availability and formal response‑time targets tied to NFPA benchmarks). Trustees also urged that the board wait until the new Station 70 is fully operational and its effect on response times is measured before committing to major staffing changes; consultants agreed that the station's occupancy could materially affect baseline metrics.

McMahon recommended a joint meeting with Sherwood and Woodville in early March to present the full written report (beyond the PowerPoint) and begin negotiation on a modernized cost‑share agreement. The consultants also committed to delivering the underlying spreadsheets to the village finance director and to update models with EMS call data when available.

The board took no immediate staffing action but asked staff and consultants to provide the full report, data‑breakdowns (including EMS calls vs. fire calls and dispatch‑interval distinctions) and an updated cost model ahead of budget deliberations.