Fire Department To End Contract With County

Time has run out and as of December 31, the Canton Fire Department will no longer provide first responder fire service to the 80 square miles of unincorporated area outside the city limits.

It all comes down to lack of funding.

"We got to looking at the number of runs we made out in the county and compared the number of runs we made in the city," Canton City Manager Andy McCuistion said.

Van Zandt County had budgeted $400 per month, per fire department in the county for their services. Van Zandt County Precinct 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. said that as of October 2009, with the new budget cycle, the 12 fire departments in the county now receive $600.53 per month.

"It became evident to us when we are looking at a $400,000 budget that $400 a month is not covering the cost to provide services out in the county," McCuistion said.

Discussions also began when the city was using paid city personnel and fire equipment paid for by city tax dollars out in the county.

For years Canton was manned strictly as a volunteer department, later they added a paid fire chief position, and through the years have added part-time and more recently full-time personnel to gain a more balanced coverage McCuistion explained.

"We have been adding firemen to our staff, at least to one shift…We are trying not to just rely on volunteers, so we don’t have gaps in our coverage," McCuistion said. "We have been trying to get 24/7 coverage is what we have been trying to do."

This summer, while coming back from answering a call, the cities main fire engine broke down. Although repaired, McCuistion said the city broke down and "bit the bullet," and purchased a new engine which they allowed the department to spend up to $380,000 on.

Because of these growing concerns, the city began looking at other options to help aid their funding need.

The annual letter drive was no longer filling the additional financial needs of the department.

Last year, Bazhaw said that of those letters sent out approximately $11,000 was received in donations.

Bazhaw mapped out the following events which led the city to their decision to cease service after December 31:

2008-Canton Fire Department addresses the Van Zandt County Fire Chief’s Association concerning inadequate funding for the department.

May 2009-Negotiations with the county commissioners regarding the cities position on funding began. A committee was formed made up of two Canton City Council members Ross Maris and Clay Nicklas, and County Commissioners Virgil Melton Jr. and Duanne Harvey.

"They let us know that they were having some financial problems covering the district right now due to the growth inside and outside of Canton," Melton said. "We met with the 12 volunteer fire departments about a contingency plan where the specific area they were covering right now would be brought in to the city limits of Canton in case the Canton Fire Department pulled out."

May 2009-A Fire Department Advisory Board made up of citizens in the unincorporated areas of the city of Canton.

Summer 2009-Canton Fire Department began meeting with the Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) about possibly forming an Emergency Services District (ESD).

"The city and the county continued to meet at that time and a December 31 deadline was established by the city, for the city to stop providing fire protection in the unincorporated areas if there was not a more equitable solution met," Bazhaw explained.

July 2009-Contract was developed by the city and presented to the commissioners.

July/August 2009- Canton Fire Department was approached by the Grand Saline Fire Department on a possibility of being annexed into ESD 2.

"During that period of time, we were still in talks with the ESD 2 and they wanted to start negotiating it," Bazhaw explained.

October 2009-Bazhaw contacted a commissioner questioning their stand on the city moving forward with joining the ESD 2.

"At this point we are told that there is no need for us to pursue this with them as of December 31, our contract will terminate with them and that they have provided arrangements for services to those folks in that area," McCuistion said.

McCuistion said he is not sure what the hesitation is in forming an ESD unless it was the problems that have surfaced over ESD 2 in Grand Saline, the recent failure of the ESD in the Edom area, or the additional tax county residents would have to pay.

"I’m not sure what the reason for all of that is, I just know that the city and the citizens of Canton are not obligated to fund $200,000 worth of services in the county," McCuistion said.

He went on to explain that on numerous occasions the city approached the commissioners with options to increase funding "and I understand their position that they don’t have a lot of money sitting around."

Melton said South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department was asked, because of their resources, to fill the gap which will be left behind come January 1, 2010.

He said they have a board of directors in place, an application process, extra fire equipment to use, and are knowledgeable about grants.

"They will be prepared to do it come January 1 and we will be leasing the Neal Brothers building off (SH) 243," Melton said.

Melton said the application process has already begun and they have as many as 15 volunteers prepared to work the station.

Bazhaw said residents living outside the city limits of Canton, who would have been covered by the Canton Fire Department, could get up a petition with 50 registered voters in that area to petition for incorporation in the ESD 2.

"That will allow their ESD to expand and take in the unincorporated area that we are currently covering," Bazhaw explained. "The citizens would petition ESD 2 for annexation, and then we would go under contract with them to provide fire protection."

The ESD 2 would find out what the value is, based on their collection rate of what their ESD is covering in the county, and they would give that money to the city of Canton annually.

When asked if he thought joining the ESD was an option for the unincorporated 80 miles, Melton said, "I think that is a good deal. I’m neutral on fire districts."

Melton went on to point out pros and cons of joining any fire districts which are: Pros-equipment and resources; Cons-being taxed.

"Do you want to pay for that service through a tax system or have a volunteer system?" Melton said. "The fire district is up to the citizens."

"South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department stepped forward and will be covering the area that Canton will not be," Melton said. "They knew we were concerned about the coverage that Canton would be leaving."

"There are no hard feelings or animosity against the city of Canton Fire Department," Melton said. "We understand financial problems."

"What we are trying to explain is that the people out in the county have been given free services all this time and they have come to expect it," McCuistion said. "It has become way too expensive."

Bazhaw said he wouldn’t be surprised if other volunteer departments in the county follow the same trend.

"Volunteer fire departments have always shown up and they (county residents) have never had to pay anything and I don’t think these residents understand what is about to happen to them," McCuistion said.

"The ESD is the answer," Bazhaw said. "That is why the state created them."

"We are willing to still be a part of this, but we are going to have to have some funding from somewhere. Whether it comes from the county or whether it comes from an ESD or subscription, but there needs to be some additional funding," McCuistion said.

"Our volunteer fire departments right now are hanging on and existing. You don’t have the volunteers you used to. The cost of fuel has gone sky high. So to offset that somehow we decided to give them more money," Melton said.

Although the county is not responsible for supplementing volunteer fire departments Melton said, "It is just the decent thing to do for the citizens of the county. They have to have emergency service."

"We are concerned that other municipalities will become financially distressed and be forced to pull out," Melton said. "That is one of our concerns. As citizens though we are going to have to do more for the volunteer fire departments. When they have fund raisers we are going to have to give accordingly."

Bazhaw said his efforts have been to cross train his firefighters so they are trained to not only provide skills of fighting fire, but also provide EMS attention when needed.

"We have been increasing our EMS training so we can respond to medical as well as fire emergencies and I think that has helped supplement the ambulance service," McCuistion said. "That is one of the things I think the folks out in the county are going to miss as much as the fire service."

Only ambulance service will make EMS calls and the fire department will only respond to mutual aid.

"The word that is being put out is that we are abandoning services to the area, but we are not abandoning them we are trying to provide services to that area," McCuistion said. "We are willing to continue to provide services to that area but we must have funding to continue to do that."

"It’s just not that we have got a new engine, or that we have put on people. It is the whole thing," Bazhaw said. "The $400 is just not adequate and I think everybody agrees with that."

"I think it is a workable solution. I think it is going to work and we are very thankful that South Van Zandt County has stepped up and is going to take this area on," Melton said.

"I think the citizens are going to have to step up and support South Van Zandt County Volunteer Fire Departments now," Melton said. "They are going to have to realize that fire protection costs."

As for residents living in the 80-mile radius outside the Canton city limits who need assistance, Melton said 9-1-1 dispatching will be reorganized at the sheriff’s office and the caller should not be concerned.

"It is a major undertaking," he said. "Citizens do need to get involved in their local volunteer fire departments."

The commissioners will officially announce South Van Zandt’s new department at the December 8, regular meeting of the commissioner’s court at 9 a.m.