GREENFIELD — A committee of Greenfield leaders will soon pick an outside consultant to study the needs of the fire territory, the mayor says.
The Greenfield City Council approved an additional appropriation to not exceed $50,000 from the Local Option Income Tax Fund — money that’s earmarked for public safety — to pay for the needs assessment. The council OK’d the resolution on second and third readings at their Wednesday meeting.
Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell said the committee will pick a consultant from four proposals he’s already received by the end of the year. The study should take about six months, he added. Fewell said he wants the city to pick a company that will give a "thorough and fair" evaluation of the territory.
The consultant will examine the territory’s staffing, number and locations of stations, efficiency of the department’s resources and all other areas of local fire prevention.
Members of the Hancock County Professional Firefighters, the union organization representing local career firefighters, have previously said the territory is understaffed by 16 firefighters. The department is also reportedly strapped for cash. The territory’s budget has needed extra LOIT funding for many years.
The fire department has 49 full-time firefighters. Depending on additional funding by the middle of 2019, the city council has given the territory the possibility of hiring three additional firefighters. Those hires, city officials said in recent budget talks, will depend on revenue and the results of the needs assessment.
