05-22-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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From:noreply@civicplus.com To:James VanEyll; Nola Dickhausen Subject:Online Form Submittal: Fire Department Comment Card Date:Tuesday, May 16, 2023 5:33:15 PM Fire Department Comment Card First Name Michael Last Name Roessle Address 2632 Cascade Ln City Orono State MN Zip Code 55356 Date Field not completed. Orono Resident Yes Comments This is a fiscally irresponsible folly. We should be working toward a multi-city fire cooperative instead of pouring countless millions on creating a new department in the town. All while currently paying into two fire departments, though only one actually exists. Paying our usage-based share to Long Lake AND paying another Chief six figures to think about a new fire department for two years and blowing a half a million dollars on one used truck is borderline criminal. There has been little serious attempt to partner with surrounding cities in a more fiscally responsible arrangement. Orono operates on a "my way or the highway", zero-sum mentality that, while in the best interest of the politician's personal end-games, isn't in the best interest of being stewards of the voters' money. More thought needs to be put into this before more dollars are wasted. For example, insurance data suggests that volunteer firefighters are, on average, just as effective as the professionals. There is no systematic difference between the two based on the Insurance Service Office's "public protection classification". Insurers use this metric of fire protection quality to determine property insurance rates for a given jurisdiction. Volunteers obviously provide wage savings, but volunteer fire departments help local governments save money in other ways too. For instance, they do not need to negotiate with unions and can avoid union contract provisions that boost the cost of the