I have chosen to write this document because we live in the North East Joint Fire District in Webster, and because my consulting firm, Comptrol, Inc., was hired by the Town of Webster, in conjunction with West Webster Fire District, Village of Webster, Union Hill Fire Department and North East Quadrant ALS, in 1999 to “Provide an overview of existing ambulance and fire services in the Town of Webster and to provide alternative models for service for the next ten years.” It is not my goal to tell you how to vote on July 24 but rather to share information with you to help you cast an informative vote.
A fire district under New York state law is a legal entity. The North East Joint Fire District (formed in 2005) has five fire commissioners elected by residents of the district, and it has taxing authority and annually submits a budget for our approval. There are three separate entities: The North East Joint Fire District, Union Hill Fire Department and Webster Fire Department.
In 2005 the North East Joint Fire District hired the Center for Governmental Research (CGR), to evaluate the needs of the district for the next 20 years and make recommendations regarding staff, equipment and facilities regarding fire services within the district.
Comptrol’s study proposed four alternative models. Each of the models had a common recommendation that EMS be consolidated into a single delivery system town-wide; this would enable the EMS system to bill for services, which it currently legally cannot do. This recommendation was not implemented. However in December 2010 the North East Joint Fire District contracted with Rural Metro, a Rochester-based ambulance company to have one to two ambulances stationed in Webster shopping plazas to provide backup assistance. This is a step forward. The formation of the North East Joint Fire District was a recommendation of the Comptrol study.
The CGR study recommends a third station between The Village of Webster and Lake Ontario. The report cites ISO standards which require fire stations to be within 1.5 miles of the service area in order to keep insurance rates at a cost-effective level. The CGR report and the Comptrol report both recognize the need for a new fire house in the future. The difference between the two recommendations is Comptrol recommended a 2,400-square-foot sub-station for fire equipment only, no ambulance garage, no sleeping quarters. The CGR report recommends a 13,308-square-foot facility for two pieces of fire equipment, one ambulance, sleeping quarters for 10 people, etc. The CGR report assumes Union Hill will move one of its two ambulances to the new site.
Last, another consideration is that Xerox is requesting a sizable reduction in its assessed value.
Tom Banaszewski is a Webster resident.
I have chosen to write this document because we live in the North East Joint Fire District in Webster, and because my consulting firm, Comptrol, Inc., was hired by the Town of Webster, in conjunction with West Webster Fire District, Village of Webster, Union Hill Fire Department and North East Quadrant ALS, in 1999 to “Provide an overview of existing ambulance and fire services in the Town of Webster and to provide alternative models for service for the next ten years.” It is not my goal to tell you how to vote on July 24 but rather to share information with you to help you cast an informative vote.
A fire district under New York state law is a legal entity. The North East Joint Fire District (formed in 2005) has five fire commissioners elected by residents of the district, and it has taxing authority and annually submits a budget for our approval. There are three separate entities: The North East Joint Fire District, Union Hill Fire Department and Webster Fire Department.
In 2005 the North East Joint Fire District hired the Center for Governmental Research (CGR), to evaluate the needs of the district for the next 20 years and make recommendations regarding staff, equipment and facilities regarding fire services within the district.
Comptrol’s study proposed four alternative models. Each of the models had a common recommendation that EMS be consolidated into a single delivery system town-wide; this would enable the EMS system to bill for services, which it currently legally cannot do. This recommendation was not implemented. However in December 2010 the North East Joint Fire District contracted with Rural Metro, a Rochester-based ambulance company to have one to two ambulances stationed in Webster shopping plazas to provide backup assistance. This is a step forward. The formation of the North East Joint Fire District was a recommendation of the Comptrol study.
The CGR study recommends a third station between The Village of Webster and Lake Ontario. The report cites ISO standards which require fire stations to be within 1.5 miles of the service area in order to keep insurance rates at a cost-effective level. The CGR report and the Comptrol report both recognize the need for a new fire house in the future. The difference between the two recommendations is Comptrol recommended a 2,400-square-foot sub-station for fire equipment only, no ambulance garage, no sleeping quarters. The CGR report recommends a 13,308-square-foot facility for two pieces of fire equipment, one ambulance, sleeping quarters for 10 people, etc. The CGR report assumes Union Hill will move one of its two ambulances to the new site.
Last, another consideration is that Xerox is requesting a sizable reduction in its assessed value.
Tom Banaszewski is a Webster resident.
