BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Starke commissioners have once again settled the perennial question of consolidating public safety services with the county by voting against both proposals at their June 20 meeting.
County Manager Scott Kornegay said it was several months ago when City Manager Drew Mullins approached the county about consolidating the city and county fire departments. That led to additional discussions about the particulars and the “very short and very concise plan” that Kornegay shared with city commissioners.
County Fire Chief Ben Carter crunched the numbers. Kornegay said for $875,815 annually, the county could take on six firefighters and cover their salaries, benefits and additional operational costs. The county would lease the city’s fire station for $1 a year and move Bradford County personnel into the station along with the former city firefighters. Instead of the two-man shifts Starke Fire Rescue is currently facing due to proposed budget cuts, the county’s arrangement would have provided for a four-person engine company most shifts — enough for the two-in, two-out standard for battling structure fires.
“We understand that you’re reducing your manpower whether we come to any sort of agreement or not, but this is the county’s way of trying to build that back and mimic the level of service that you’re currently accustomed to,” Kornegay said.
The county would not have taken on the fire department’s truck debt, nor would Starke Fire Chief Gary Wise work for the county. Kornegay said the city would continue to employ and pay Wise.
Wise has been with the city longer than any current fire department employee — nearly 30 years. According to him, the city pays him $80,000 a year plus benefits.
City Commissioner Danny Nugent has been a vocal opponent of consolidating the fire departments. He said city taxpayers already help pay for the county law enforcement and fire protection, and he doesn’t think Starke should be asked to pay more to consolidate. He said the county should also have to purchase any equipment obtained from the city. As for the station, he said the city could lease the building for more than $1 a year if it was abandoning its fire department.
Commissioner Andy Redding asked about how the fire budget would increase annually. Kornegay said an escalator clause had been discussed but not decided. It could be tied to CPI, for example, but with caps preventing costs from rising too high or dropping too low in a given year.
Redding asked what would happen to the city firefighters not hired by the county, but Kornegay said the city’s proposed budget for 2023-24 eliminates those positions. The county was approached about consolidation with the idea that doing so would allow the Starke station to remain fully staffed. Chief Carter said Bradford Fire Rescue had also been holding positions vacant in anticipation that it could hire some of Starke’s displaced firefighters.
“I would like as many of these firefighters to have a place to land as possible,” he said.
Commissioner Shannon Smith wanted them to stay put.
“At this time, I have no desire to merge with the county on our fire department. I think our guys are top notch, and I think we just keep going where we’re going,” he said.
Mayor Scott Roberts said the discussion was not about the quality of the city fire department or its employees.
“They do a good job, but we do have other things going on besides the police and fire,” he said. The city manager’s budget cuts funding for those departments so more money can be spent on aging infrastructure.
Addressing comments claiming this move was just about the money, Roberts said it was a factor, but not the only one. He also countered the perception that consolidation would lower the level of service. Starke would continue to have an active fire station across the street from city hall.
As a supporter of consolidation, Roberts did not like having his concern for the city or its employees questioned.
“Nobody cares about this town or this city more than I do,” he said. “I don’t care if you moved here one year ago or 100 years ago, I assure you my decisions are based on what is the best for Starke. Will you agree? Maybe not. I can tell you one thing that won’t be questioned is my dedication to this service, why I was put here by the people. Yes, you do have a say-so. I cannot be elected and somebody else can make this decision. And you know what? I would be fine with it. But to sit here and say that I don’t care about this town and I don’t care about the services being provided is way out of line with me.”
Roberts received vocal pushback from the crowd about how much money the city spends and letting voters decide on consolidation of services in a referendum. He said he appreciated the emotion and called a brief recess to regain control of the meeting.
“I want to apologize if I got out of line with anybody, but I’m going to tell you something: It means a lot to me, too. And it means a lot to you all, and I thank you all for turning out and having your opinion,” Roberts said.
Other than some statistics, someone pointed out the commission hadn’t heard from Starke’s fire chief, and while Roberts said Wise was welcome to speak at any point, Wise claimed he had received mixed signals about that.
Wise said adding his compensation package and the fire engine loan payment to the nearly $876,000 the county requested places the city’s costs in the same ballpark as the proposed budget $1.04 million fire budget for 2023-24. Why, he asked, would the city give up its fire department if the cost of to the city remains the same? And why would they give it to the county “who is in just as bad shape as we are, if not worse?”
“We’ve been here for 137 years. That’s a long time. I’ve been here 29 years, over half my life dedicated to this city,” Wise said, adding that 10 of the 12 firefighters have 13 or more years working for the city.
Roberts said the difference is two firefighters per shift working for the city of four per shift working for the county.
Wise said that’s the commission’s call, and he would run the department how they wish, but two firefighters per shift would diminish the level of service. Response times would increase, he said.
According to Chief Wise, between April 2022 and March 2023, Starke Fire Rescue responded to 35 building fires, 15 brush fires, 14 vehicle fires and 11 other fires. More often, the department responses to medical calls. Wise gave numbers from January 2020 to May 1, 2023. Of almost 4,000 calls, 1,797 were medically related. More than 600 calls were outside the city limits. The county fire department responded to calls in the city 78 times. Only twice did the county arrive “in time” per the national standard, said Wise.
Commissioner Redding asked about Wise’s role under consolidation. Chief Carter said given his experience, it would be “crazy” not to use Wise in a leadership role, although there were no specific details about how that would work. The city, county and union would have to figure that out. As for firefighter compensation, Carter said that would be addressed individually.
“I just want it out there that I have a tremendous amount of respect for all the men who work there at that department, the chief as well,” Carter said. “The county has a great relationship and our EMS agency well before we were an established fire department has a great working relationship with the city department over there. Regardless of whichever way this goes, that relationship’s going to continue, and I’ll continue to support these men however I can.”
Commissioners Nugent and Smith made a motion to keep Starke Fire Rescue, and they were supported in the vote by Redding. Mayor Roberts and Commissioner Janice Mortimer voted against the motion.
Budget workshop to address fire cuts
Later in the meeting, Smith called for a budget workshop, saying they need to take another look and find more money for the fire department. He is not in favor of cutting shifts back to two firefighters, which is what the preliminary budget for next year calls for.
That preliminary budget is balanced, and Clerk Jimmy Crosby pointed out that moving money to the fire department would require taking it from somewhere else or raising revenue through taxes or a service fee.
The workshop will be on the agenda for the July 11 meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
