TRUSTEEBUESCHER@AOL.COM
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF NORTHFIELD CENTER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE PAUL G. BUESCHER
~ KEEPING NCT RESIDENTS INFORMED SINCE 2005 ~
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#457 MONDAY JUNE 06, 2016
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REPORT & COMMENTS ON THE STATUS OF FIRE & EMS SERVICES FOR NORTHFIELD CENTER TOWNSHIP
Last March, through no fault of ours, we were forced into what can only be described as a public safety and political nightmare. This nightmare began when Sagamore Hills decided to divorce themselves from our six-year Fire District agreement. This came as a complete surprise since neither the Sagamore Hills Trustees nor the Fire District legal counsel gave us any prior warning what-so-ever! Ohio Law prohibits the formation or continuation of a Fire District with less than two communities so Sagamore’s action will legally end the Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire District In what seemed like astonishingly record time, Sagamore Hills suddenly had a firm proposal for contracted Fire and EMS services from the City of Macedonia. And shortly afterwards we also received a proposal from Macedonia for similar contracted services.
Since we were now faced with the reality of the loss of our Fire District next September, we were forced into making some serious decisions with legal time constraints.
We were now faced with the decision to put a 6-mil levy on the ballot to possibly resurrect our Fire Department or to consider contracting with a neighboring community. Starting another real Fire District with Macedonia or Northfield Village was never a consideration because both communities’ Charters prohibit them from doing so. Both of those communities would be required to put a charter amendment on a future ballot to allow them to form or join a Fire District. We eventually had our professionals crunch the numbers to see what finances we would need to resurrect our Fire Department. It was soon apparent that we needed a minimum of 6-mills, which would be a 4-mil increase over our current 2-mill levy.
Once this situation was made public I began hearing from residents who were interested in resurrecting our Northfield Center Fire Department (NCFD). I also heard from some who would rather contract the services from one of our neighboring communities. As of today I’ve heard, in one form or another, from almost 300 residents with a majority indicating their favor of resurrecting the NCFD with the 6-mil levy. A confirmation on this majority occurred at our Public Hearing held on May 23rd where 16 residents shared their views on the levy proposal. Out of those 16 who spoke, 10 were in favor of resurrecting the NCFD through the 6-mil levy, 3 were opposed and 3 simply asked some questions.
Due to the aforementioned “legal time constraints” we had to consider putting the 6-mil levy on the August 2nd ballot and we had to make that decision on or before May 4th. After a great deal of thought and discussion, we put the levy on the ballot at our Special Trustees meeting held on April 25th.
My primary and personal motivation for voting in favor of putting the levy on the ballot is to allow the residents the opportunity to decide this issue for themselves. Unlike the fiasco that occurred in Sagamore Hills where the Trustees denied their residents the same opportunity, I would never have any part of something like that. The magnitude and implications of this decision are too important for just three people to make. There are those who have gone well beyond reasonable and respectful criticism of this decision. Some of us have been subjected to threats, intimidation and even to what can only be described as attempted blackmail! None of this worked because as of Friday, June 3rd, which was the deadline for removing the 6-mil levy from the August ballot, came and went without a call for a meeting to remove it.
To those few who were opposed to putting the levy on the ballot I say…. This is America where the people have the collective right to determine the future of their community through their vote and the guarantee thereof through their elected representatives. To demand otherwise is selfish, shameful and un-American. Nobody has the right to interfere or otherwise subvert the voice of the people or ridicule or threaten those promoting such a noble cause! With that being said, here is where we currently stand and what we are facing.
· The 6-mil levy (ISSUE 3) is on the August 2nd ballot and will be decided by a vote of the people.
· We are considering an eventual contract for services from one of two surrounding communities in the event that the 6-mil levy fails.
· We are facing Fire District equipment disbursement between us and Sagamore Hills.
· The Firefighter’s union is demanding contract negotiations and filed unfair labor practices with SERB.
If the 6-mil levy passes, then our Fire Department will be resurrected and services will continue as it has in the past except that our equipment will last much longer. This is due to the fact that we will have over one-thousand (1,000) LESS calls without having to cover Sagamore Hills. The staffing of our station however, would still have to be maintained at current levels (3-4 personnel per shift) to maintain our current level of Fire and EMS service.
If the 6-mil levy fails, we will then have to contract with another surrounding community and to do so we will still have to present another less costly levy (2-mill?) on a near future ballot to cover the additional expenses. Our Township currently has approximately $1.2 Million in its fire levy account. This is set aside for capital improvements (vehicles, misc. equipment and maintenance for both and building maintenance) and not necessarily for operations.
There are some people who are spreading absolutely false rumors about the levy. These people are saying that there are no guarantees involving what the money would be used for if the 6-mil levy passes. The following is part of the official ballot language as authored and provided by the Summit County Board of Elections:
“… For the purpose of providing capital expenditures, wages, benefits, operation, facilities and maintenance of THE NORTHFIELD CENTER FIRE DEPARTMENT….”
This should end those rumors once and for all! And based on this FACT, it is accurate to state that the 6-mil ballot issue will essentially be a vote (FOR) to resurrect the Northfield Center Fire Department or to vote (AGAINST) to contract with an area community.
During the past month, we met publicly with three area communities to discuss the possibility of contracting our Fire / EMS services with them. The following is a brief synopsis of those meetings and my interpretation of them:
MACEDONIA:
On May 2nd we publicly met with Macedonia Mayor Joe Migliorini and Fire Chief Tim Black. Prior to this meeting, they presented a proposal to us to contract with them for $375,000 for the first year. There is no question that Macedonia has a well-equipped and professionally run Fire Department. This was well known both before and after our meeting. Many questions were asked and answered, which resulted in several concerns that were brought to light.
Macedonia’s proposal contained no future contractual cost increases other than a mention of unknown union negotiated raises and call volume increases. It also included only two (2) people staffing our station with a “floating” officer between Northfield Center and Sagamore Hills.
Sagamore’s contract also calls for just two people. It was stated that if we contract with Macedonia then the two personnel that we would pay for in our Fire Station would back up Sagamore Hills, especially during back to back calls. The problem with this is, what happens when all of our people AND Sagamore Hills people are on two different Sagamore calls and then we get a call for help from one of our residents? The call would have to be answered from Macedonia’s main station, which would add anywhere from 5 to 9 additional minutes of response time!
The radio and 911 dispatching of calls was also discussed. Chief Black indicated that he wanted the dispatching to originate in Macedonia. Currently, our Sheriff’s Office dispatches all police and fire calls for Northfield Center. Our 911 system MUST remain with the Sheriff’s Office, which is a given and not negotiable. IF our fire dispatching would go to Macedonia, all 911 calls would first have to go to the Sheriff’s dispatch center in Akron because the 911 system cannot differentiate a police call from a fire call. The Sheriff would then have to hand off a fire call to the Macedonia dispatcher which would add 1 to 1.5 minutes to the overall response time.
I see the potential of many unknown future cost increases in this proposal. More importantly however, I see a clear danger to our residents in possible response time increases due primarily to a ‘backdoor remarriage’ with Sagamore Hills. The overwhelming majority of back to back Fire District calls originated from the 1,000+ calls occurring each year in Sagamore Hills. It would appear that Macedonia’s contract with Sagamore Hills is highly dependent on our accepting their proposal to backup Sagamore Hills at the expense and possible jeopardy to our residents. I truly believe that this is the reason that this proposal is for only $375,000!
NORTHFIELD VILLAGE:
On May 9th we publicly met with Northfield Village Mayor, Jesse Nehez, Councilor Jenn Domzalski and Fire Chief Jason Buss. At that meeting we were presented with their proposal through a Power Point presentation. Their proposal contained several options for the first year that included from two to four personnel with a “Division Chief” included in all of them for costs ranging from $406,000 to $784,000. The proposal also included administrative costs and 3% increases for the following years. Although these costs are higher, I believe that they represent stability through the true costs of the proposed services. These are defined costs for the duration of the contract and there is a strong possibility that they can be negotiated down in future meetings.
The two to four (including a Division Chief) personnel that would be at our fire station would service Northfield Center residents exclusively except for routine mutual aid calls for surrounding communities. They would also be backed up by personnel at the Northfield Village fire station.
Both our 911 and radio systems would be fully compatible with Northfield Village. 911 police and fire calls would continue to be handled by the Sheriff’s Department with no additional response times.
VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT:
On May 10th we publicly met with Valley Fire District Chief Charlie Riedel and Boston Twp. Trustee / FD Board Member, Amy Anderson. Although there was no formal presentation or proposal made during this meeting, we had a good talk and exchanged many service related questions and answers. A week after this meeting, Chief Riedel informed us that due to the addition of several large commercial businesses in their area, it would be best to look at this in perhaps a year or so. However, after this was mentioned at our May 23rd Public Hearing, Rich Reville presented us with a letter from the Valley Fire District that was dated May 17th indicating that they were still interested in working something out with us. This letter was not sent to the Townhall and is still not a public record as of this date. It is still uncertain where we stand with the Valley!
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The Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire District owns all of the fire and EMS equipment except for the station itself. Sagamore Hills entered into the District with NO equipment in their name. Since the District will soon be dissolved, the question has arisen as to who gets what equipment? Since the formation of the District back in 2010, Sagamore Hills has been paying roughly 65% of the operating costs and Northfield Center has been paying 35%. They did eventually pay their percentage towards the District’s purchase of some equipment.
The 65/35 percentages were based on call volume with approximately 1,000 in Sagamore and 500 in Northfield Center. Again, these are OPERATING costs but Sagamore apparently believes that since they paid two-thirds of the OPERATING costs, that they are entitled to a full two-thirds of the equipment! We strongly disagree and the matter is now in the hands of our attorney.
The AFSCME Ohio Council 8 Union gave notice to the Fire District of their intention to represent the District members just prior to Sagamore giving us notice of their leaving the District. Currently we have no contract with them and there has only been one meeting between the Board and their representatives. The union is insisting on negotiating a contract even though by Ohio Law, the Fire District will no longer exist in a few short months. They have even filed an unfair labor practice with SERB. Our attorney has filed a motion for dismissal and that’s where this issue stands as of today.
PUBLIC & PRIVATE MEETINGS INVOLVING THE FIRE DISTRICT ISSUE
Jan. 27, 2016 AFSCME Union & Others Townhall
Feb. 09, 2016 Special Fire District Board Meeting Townhall
Feb. 09, 2016 Executive Fire Dist. Board Meeting Townhall
Feb. 29, 2016 Fire District Board Meeting Sagamore Hills Townhall
Feb. 29, 2016 Fire Dist. Executive Board Meeting Sagamore Hills Townhall
Mar. 16, 2016 Regular Fire District Board Meeting Townhall
Mar. 16, 2016 Fire Board Executive Meeting Townhall
Mar. 16, 2016 Various FD & Union & Trustees, Etc. Townhall
Mar. 24, 2016 Private Meeting w/ Northfield Village Townhall
Mar. 28, 2016 Special Trustees Meeting Townhall
Mar. 28, 2016 Executive Trustees Meeting Townhall
Mar. 28, 2016 Trustees Work Session Townhall
Apr. 04, 2016 Regular Trustees Meeting Townhall
Apr. 06, 2016 Private Meeting w/ 40 SH Residents Community Rm Ethan Estate
Apr. 13, 2016 Special Trustees Meeting Townhall
Apr. 13, 2016 Executive Trustees Meeting Townhall
Apr. 18, 2016 Special Trustees Meeting Townhall
Apr. 25, 2016 Special Trustees Meeting Townhall
May 02, 2016 Work Session with Macedonia Reps. Townhall
May 02, 2016 Regular Trustees Meeting Townhall
May 03, 2016 FD Chief Frank Risko Home
May 03, 2016 Met with 14 FD Members Fire Dept. Day Room
May 09, 2016 Work Session w. Northfield Village Townhall
May 10, 2016 Work Session w. Valley Fire Dist. Townhall
May 23, 2016 Public Hearing on FD Issues Townhall
May 24, 2016 Summit Co. Sheriff Steve Barry & Others Luna’s
May 24, 2016 Mayor Jesse Nehez Home
NEWSLEADER ARTICLES
Feb. 10, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 District firefighters to unionize
Mar. 23, 2016 – NewsLeader 2 Trustee: Move to leave fire district ‘a slap in the face’
Mar. 23, 2016 – NewsLeader 6 Northfield Center to consider fire service options,
Including contract with city
Mar. 30, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Fire consolidation would benefit all, city officials say
Mar. 30, 2016 – NewsLeader 8 AS WE SEE IT – Time for civil discussion of regionalized
Area fire service
Apr. 06, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Township offers bid for Sagamore fire contract
Apr. 13, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Village wary of fire service partnerships with other towns
Apr. 20, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Northfield Center readies 6-mill fire levy for ballot
Apr. 27, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Trustees put 6-Mill fire levy on ballot
May 04, 2016 – NewsLeader 4 Northfield Center schedules work sessions on fire service
May 04, 2016 – NewsLeader 4 Northfield Center Offer Rejected
May 11, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Northfield Center fire talks proceed
May 18, 2016 – NewsLeader 1 Hearing scheduled to discuss Northfield Center
Fire service
RADIO & TV NEWS BROADCASTS
Mar. 03, 2016 – WOIO TV19
Mar. 03, 2016 – WUAB TV43
Apr. 05, 2016 – WAKR AM 1590
Apr. 06, 2016 – WAKR AM 1590
Apr. 11, 2016 – WAKR AM 1590
TRUSTEE BUESCHER NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
Mar. 15, 2016 #446 – SAGAMORE HILLS ENDING FIRE DISTRICT PARTNERSHIP
Mar. 23, 2016 #447 – AN OPEN LETTER FROM OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND PARAMEDICS
Mar. 31, 2016 #448 – FIRE DISTRICT UPDATE
Apr. 04, 2016 #449 – TO ALL NORTHFIELD CENTER RESIDENTS – YOUR INPUT IS REQUESTED!
Apr. 06, 2016 #450 – URGENT REMINDER
Apr. 08, 2016 #451 – POLL RESULTS
Apr. 11, 2016 #452 – QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ON THE FIRE DISTRICT ISSUE
Apr. 23, 2016 #453 – NEW FIRE/EMS PROPOSAL SENT TO SAGAMORE HILLS
Apr. 23, 2016 #453 – SOME THOUGHTS, COMMENTS AND FACTS ON THE FIRE/EMS ISSUE
Apr. 28, 2016 #454 – PUBLIC WORK SESSIONS SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS FIRE/EMS PROPOSALS
Apr. 28, 2016 #455 – SOME UPDATES AND COMMENTS
May 16, 2016 #456 – TOWN HALL PUBLIC HEARING: FIRE/EMS NEXT MON. MAY 23, 2016 AT 7 PM
Jun. 06, 2016 #457 – REPORT & COMMENTS ON THE STATUS OF FIRE & EMS SERVICES FOR
NORTHFIELD CENTER TOWNSHIP
CONSULTANTS & REFERENCES:
Frank Risko Chief – Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire District
Jim Honsberger CPA
Mike Harvey Esq. (Attorney)
Steve Barry Sheriff – Summit Co. Sheriff’s Office
Brad Whitfield Major – Summit Co. Sheriff’s Office
City of Macedonia Public Records
Northfield Village Public Records
Sagamore Hills Public Records
Record Publishing NewsLeader Archives
NordoniaHills.News Website Interview Archives
Elections Board Issue 3 ballot language
Ohio Revised Code §505.37 §505.371
Paul G. Buescher
Northfield Center Twp. Trustee – Vice Chair
June 6, 2016 5PM
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Thank you,
Paul G. Buescher
Northfield Center Twp. Trustee Vice-Chairman
Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire Dist. Board
330-467-9451
TrusteeBuescher@aol.com
www.northfieldcenter.com
AMATEUR RADIO STATION N8HHG
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