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Advance fire representative describes rescues and rising costs as justification for PSLIT support
Summary
Jim Caldwell described recent rescues, the variety and intensity of calls and sharply rising apparatus and training costs; he warned a career conversion could cost $8 million and cause a large tax increase, and urged council support for public-safety income tax funding.
Jim Caldwell of Advance described a series of local rescues and the changing technical demands facing volunteer firefighters, from animal rescues to complex vehicle extrications. He emphasized that modern fires and hazards require more specialized training and equipment than in the past and said volunteers are increasingly difficult to recruit.
"It costs about $20,000 to put a firefighter on scene and able to put them into the fire," Caldwell said, and he gave examples of rising vehicle and apparatus costs: a tanker bought in 2000 cost about $125,000, while comparable equipment now can run in the hundreds of thousands; he said an engine could cost "$750 to 1,000,000." Caldwell told the council that converting Advance to a career department would cost an estimated $8 million and a 196% tax increase, which he presented as an illustrative contrast to smaller-tax measures to support volunteers.
Caldwell concluded by asking the council for financial support to keep volunteers safe and to maintain local coverage, and he answered council members' questions about prior municipal requests and mutual-aid arrangements.
