Can’t base future funding on grants

COAL GROVE — Despite repeated, and denied, efforts for grant money, the Coal Grove police and fire chiefs have taken their concerns to the village council.

At a special meeting Monday, the village council police and fire committees met to hear presentations from both Police Chief Eric Spurlock and Fire Chief Gary Sherman about the major financial needs of each department.

The bottom line for both the fire and police departments was that various pieces of old equipment, as well as some vehicles, needs to be replaced in the next one to five years to save the village cost in repairs or to comply with state or federal standards.

The budget for the Coal Grove Police Department for 2011 was $253,157.22 and brought in more than $187,000 in revenue from towing and tickets.

With repairs and maintenance to older police cruisers costing about $23,000, the department went over the allotted budget by nearly $1,500.

The department’s main need is cruisers, Spurlock said, and recent grant requests have been denied.

Spurlock said three of the five department vehicles have more than 100,000 miles on them. The seat springs are worn and the female officer use pillows to see over the steering wheel, he said.

Three cars also have transmissions that will be in need of repair soon and Spurlock said he expected repair costs to be the same, if not more, as last year.

A major need for both the police and fire departments is the radio equipment.

“Our future is not in our hands when it comes to radios,” Sherman said.

Sherman explained that the village must wait to see what the county will use when the federally mandated narrowbanding goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013. Right now, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is partially using a new, MARCS radio system as well as the older system, which all fire departments use.

When narrowbanding goes into effect, older radio equipment will be useless, Sherman said, unless it is newer than 10 years old.

Sherman said he was opposed to the MARCS system because each mobile and handheld radio has a monthly user fee of $20, which the village cannot afford. The mobile units alone cost $5,000 for the initial purchase.

The fire department applied for a $205,000 FEMA joint-grant with the police department, as well as the Upper, Hamilton, Lawrence and Elizabeth township fire departments for the purchase of radio equipment.

Sherman also talked to council about vital department equipment that needs to be replaced in the next five years, including a fire engine.

The oldest truck the department has was bought new in 1987, Sherman said, which means it would be 30 years old in 2016. He explained that when the truck hits the 30-year milestone, insurance increases, as well as the village’s insurance service office (ISO) rating that would in turn increase homeowners insurance rates.

Sherman recommended the council consider an emergency services fee, similar to one that was put in place in 2007 after the department was turned down four times for grants.

In 2007, a $4 per resident ($8 per business) fee was added to water bills to pay off a loan for a new fire truck and was removed in a about a year when the truck was paid off, Sherman said. The fee would only cover the purchase, repair and maintenance of equipment.

Among other items needed are breathing air bottles, hose lines and nozzles, a full-sized hydraulic cutter and spreader and a breathing air compressor.

“We can’t base our future on the flip of a coin and getting a grant,” Sherman told the committee members.

Both Sherman and Spurlock said they would continue to apply for whatever grants come available.