Laserfiche WebLink
DRAFT Comprehensive Fire Service Study MEDINA, MINNESOTA <br /> <br />Matrix Consulting Group Page 54 <br />• In Wisconsin, the Woodland Fire Rescue in Dodge County, which has been in <br />operation for nearly 150 years, will discontinue service effective December 31, <br />2020 due to dwindling volunteer personnel. This department has 14 members with <br />8 members regularly responding to calls. <br /> <br />Minnesota reports there are approximately 20,000 firefighters in the state with 18,000 <br />being volunteer firefighters. It is also reported the number of firefighters in the state is <br />down approximately 700 people in the past five years. <br /> <br />Conclusions on Fire Personnel Risks <br /> <br />With the dwindling of volunteer firefighters, the fire departments may need to utilize paid <br />personnel or dissolve due to a lack of personnel or necessary funding to provide paid <br />personnel. The additional funding will need to come from the contracts with increased <br />cost passed on to the City of Medina. <br /> <br />2. Capital Assets <br /> <br />Dissolution of a fire department also impacts the capital assets and the City of Medina. <br />Three contracts have provisions for the City to contribute to the capital i mprovements of <br />the fire departments and all three have differing rates of contribution. In addition, each <br />have differing mechanisms for ownership of the assets. The Maple Plain contract has no <br />provisions for capital assets and no provisions for the City of Medina to contribute funds <br />to the capital assets. <br /> <br />The Loretto Fire Department contract outlines the capital improvement funding is a part <br />of the budget that is submitted to the contracting cities. There is no provision for the <br />allocation of ownership of any capital assets should the fire department dissolve or fail to <br />sign a contract with the City of Medina. In fact, there are no provisions in the contract in <br />the event of a dissolution for any of the contracting cities that are a party to the contract. <br />In the past three years the City of Medina has provided an average of $20,397 per year <br />for capital improvement funds. <br /> <br />The Long Lake Fire Department contract provides a process to develop and fund capital <br />improvements for the department through the contracting cities as follows: <br /> <br />• The City of Long Lake will have the option of funding any percentage of the total, <br />which is equal to or greater than the average of its last three City Budget <br />Percentages including the current calendar year. <br />