Villages Fire Service
 

Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe

Good post.
I think you should continue to share your views, maybe pro's & con's, etc.
Ignore trolls, we can all see them and smell them.
Good Luck.

I appreciate all of your hard work, and I had first hand experience with a problem at our house before we ever moved in, I was impressed with the response and the follow-up, a former volunteer fire fighter.

I’d like to know your take on this action it just seems like another FIRE TAX on what we are already paying.
“ Villages Fire Chief Edmund Cain is scheduled to present a plan for an independent special fire district to the ad hoc committee on Aug. 4. The district would not be subject to county oversight and would have authority to levy taxes and impact fees.”
What’s the rest of the story time will tell.

Please tell us more would love to hear your views.

About a month ago had a very strange experience with our fire alarms beeping one after the other and called for help.

The firefighters were great and fast and showed us what was going on.

Fire tax
 

In answer to your question. A special Fire district tax assessment would be in place of your county Fire tax assessment. You would not be charged twice. As a matter of fact, special tax districts answer to an elected board that only deals with that issue and are held to a higher financial accountability and openness despite what Mr Arnold has stated in the papers. The other thing he is not telling you is the Sumter County has many things in other budgets that are not included in the Sumter FD budget that are included in the Villages budget, such as Fire inspections. The Villages Public Safety Department operates on a budget that is less per call and with better manpower than Sumter FD.

So we have two options…..
1) pay a fire tax to the county (overseen by county commissioners) who in turn pays the Villages fire department OR
2) pay a fire tax directly to The Villages Fire department (which would be overseen by an independent body)?

No, there are really3 options as it stands right now. Things can stay the same as now, which is Sumter Co. paying through your tax money for the Villages Fire.
Or
They would take over everything under Sumter FD
Or
The Villages Fire could become its own tax district, independent of the county.

I feel it should be up to you the residents of the Villages to decide, not Mr Arnold or the Commissioners. You moved to the Villages for a reason. You wanted the best place to live and retire to. Don’t you want the best services? Sumter County was one of the poorest counties in Florida before the Villages. The Villages FD was formed over 20 years ago because they could not provide the service to -the residents, and they still cannot.

What impact would this have on Villages located on the historic side where the fire station response comes from the Paradise area and/or in the Lady Lake portion of the Villages?

If we became a Fire district, none as you would fall into that area.
If things stay the way they are now, none
If Sumter Co took over, the short answer is I’m not sure. It would be up to the lake county areas and the VCCDd to decide.

Thanks for the information about this.

I’ve seen The Villages fire response. You guys are the first responders for medical emergencies, right? I’ve seen the truck pull up to a restuarant, twice, when a customer was having a medical issue.
The EMT’s were great.
I like that model.

How does this effect TV overall if Sumter County took over? In that I mean, there's two other counties in TV. Would there be three fire departments in time? Don't fix what's not broken.

I have been in The Villages for 16 years. I think the Villages Fire Department does an excellent job all around. I have been watching the updates on this “ambulance issue” and don't know all the financial facts or facts in general , but I do know having the response time we have for an actual ambulance to show up is alarming. I havent seen an “average” response time per call, does anyone have that information? I would think if we bump that up against what the “normal” response time per call should be, it would be helpful as a decision making factor. We never know when we will need that ambulance and I for one would not want to be on the waiting end. I have had two experiences where I have had to call 911, and fortunately for the situation I was in, the response time was very good but those two times were over a year ago. One was life threatening and the other was not. I would like to know more facts, but just off the cuff, I am leaning toward having the Fire Department oversee the destiny of our ambulance service. I know the one closest to me, which is by the Charter School, is excellent and our firefighters are great.

Thank You for your service!!!!

Can you say what, if anything is wrong with the villages fire department staying under the county? Not bringing ambulances into the equation.

There are currently commissioners on the board that would stop at nothing to make moves that they perceive will hurt The Developer, even it it ultimately results in damage to the Villages.

After learning it was Arnold behind AMR getting the contract for ambulance service in the county and reading about their response time I want nothing to do with ANYTHING he is proposing. I have had two emergencies in which 911 was called and it was the fire departments EMT that show up in less than 6 or 7 minutes both times. Granted I live only 2-1/2 miles from our local fire department but I think no one else could come close to the service these folks provide and I ALWAYS remember to thank them when I see them in public.

I was told that the reason for the Villages separate fire/EMT service is that Sumter county response time was too slow. The fire department in the villages has world class response times and is worth the money, especially if you are the one having the heart attack.

Villages Fire Service should be controlled by those who live in the Villages
I recently moved to the Villages. Just retired from the Fire service after 34 years and 10 years as fire chief. My department was always always under attack by the Big City so they could take out money. During the time I was there our local department provided a much better, more personal and better value than the big city. Giving control to a larger entity is not always the best plan. In my opinion Taking our Villages tax money and paying it to our Villages fire department with our Villages control is a win for us.

The Villages Fire Dept would be the best service to take over the ambulance service. As a former Fire Chief and Firefighter that is the best service period.

Support villages fire dept
 

We all agree that we need to keep the excellent service of our Villages Fire Department in place and not allow County Commissioner Bradley to take it over. We need to get involved! Contact your local and County representatives! Also we need to attend the open meetings of the ad hoc County EMS committee which are held at the Wildwood Community Center on August 4, 18, Sept 1 and 15. All meetings start at 7:00pm. Voice our opinions!

The way these mini governments run is crazy. The residents here pay crazy taxes but the way these CDDs are set up more money is never enough. The biggest issue is phenomenal growth and ill prepared for it. My gosh they’ve had over 40 years to prepare for this growth this will not end well. Watch the next 5 years.

Sumter county has other residents besides the villages. They can barely afford to live in this area. It’s the way this non transparent way of governing has affected everyone.

So let me understand this. Our, The Villages, fire department has an excellent response time. Sumter County ambulance service (AMR) has the most horrible response time, sometimes between 30 min to an hour. Which means you call 911for a heart attack, the fire dept gets to you in 5 to 10 min, but then you wait 30 to 60 min for an ambulance to get you to a hospital. That’s what we have now. What is being proposed is that we put The Villages excellent Fire Dept under the management of the horrible Sumter County management. Whose brilliant idea was that? The sad thing is that if we don’t get this to a wider audience, they will slip it in under our noses. Who’s spearheading The Villages action on this?

Make your voice heard, got this from a member of TVPS - SAVE THE VILLAGES FIRE RESCUE
YOUR VOICE MATTERS TO SAVE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT
Please contact the Ad Hoc Fire, EMS, and Transport Committee and Sumter County Board of County Commissioners to support The Villages Fire Rescue and oppose Sumter County consolidating The Villages Fire Rescue!
To contact the Ad Hoc Committee, please email Leslie.Smith@sumtercountyfl.gov To contact the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners, please email
doug.gilpin@sumtercountyfl.gov gary.search@sumtercountyfl.gov oren.miller@sumtercountyfl.gov garry.breeden@sumtercountyfl.gov
craig.estep@sumtercountyfl.gov

Lake County
 

If option 2 mentioned above happens in Sumpter County, will Lake County try and proceed to take over as well?
I like the independent model 3; where we as Villagers pay for our own excellent fire department services and have a say in what it looks like moving forward.
Even if it works out as a bit more tax money it may be worth the cost to have ownership of such an important service. Just my opinion.

Thank-you for providing this information and insight. It can be very difficult to get this in this sea of propaganda that seems to overshadow the villages in so many areas.

I suspect the vast majority of people in the villages want what is best when it comes to their health and safety. SO, my primary question is, what is best for the health and safety of the villages? Second question is about cost; who pays, who benefits and is this a fair model?

Isn’t Arnold The Choice Of The Prior Commissioners?
 

Wasn’t Bradley Arnold the choice for Sumter County administrator of the prior Developer-supported County Commissioners?

Now that the county commission is no longer under the control of the Developer, what’s changed? How long will Arnold survive under his new bosses?

Are we talking about fire protection services, ambulance services, or both?

Does TV Fire Department have enough resources (vehicles, manpower) to provide ambulance service or would they need to substantially expand?

If the independent district is established and we pay fire protection (and I assume ambulance) taxes to it then where does the rest of Sumter County get funding for their emergency services? Is there any reason to believe our county property taxes (the ad valorem part) would not be increased to cover the shortfall in the county budget?

Echoing...thank you so much for your service! That said we've had the honor of some of your folks helping us out and the response time was excellent. It's always been comforting to know you are "there" for us. When one is in what is a medical emergency---time is of the essance. We've been following what the new commissioners have tried to railroad through and quite frankly it's frightening!! They even live here and Heaven help them "if" they ever need your services!! Just saying. These folks are "NIMBYS" (Not in my back yard)....wanting to change everything and how it's done to be what it was like where they were from. Also are RINO's which was false pretenses. Anyway, unfortunately people's lives are at stake. It's not because of the developer but the CCD's who are the rule makers. Just my 2-cents worth.

These are my opinions of what would be wrong with takeover by the county.
1. A smaller dept. in a rural setting would be taking over a larger dept. in a more urban setting.
2. Different customer service concept. The county does not coordinate the programs we have such as smoke detectors and AED groups.
3. They currently do not have quick response rescues.
4. They have less manpower per vehicle.
They currently have longer response times than VPSD.
Again, this is not a knock against the great firefighters and Emt/paramedics they have, these are county management issues that are the problem.Just look at the County for the mismanagement of the Ambulance contract, is that how you want things to be with YOoUR Fire Dept.
By the way, the amendments to the Ambulance contract that was passed by Mr. Arnold and the commission are just smoke and mirrors. They don’t fix anything it just makes the problem a not problem by accepting the poor service.

x

Can you tell me what the current staffing wants to do? If it were put to a vote which option would the majority choose?

Are you guys unionized through the IAFF?

When and if The Villages creates its own ambulance taxing entity, we will then also have to pay for the Sumter County services by who ever is providing that service to the rest of the area. This would result in two entities needing a tax support base from all of us.

Mr. Arnold is in way over his head. He has shown his lack of foresight during the Pandemic. He seems to always be a follower and waits for the wind to blow. He needs to go ASAP. It’s a shame the new Commission has to rely on Arnold for anything. Especially leadership.

///

You are correct, they would still have their FD funded by the taxes.
Here is a fourth option, Since Mr. Arnold is so fond of outsourcing all of the county services he can, Why doesn’t he contract with The Villages Fire for service in the rest of the county. We could get service for the rest of the county at a better cost per call with better manpower.

I would love to learn more. Is there a way to stop at a fire station and ask questions.
You are welcome to email me at knussmank@gmail.com.

Fire stations…
 

…. Rank as one of the most expensive services many municipalities choose to supply. Who would argue that many of these municipal fire stations make very few fire related calls, and actually compete with private paramedic businesses.

Get government out of private enterprise.



Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe[/QUOTE]

The fire dept is better trained, better equipped and has a better response time. You get what you pay for.

I am a retired deputy chief from a good size northeastern city I served nearly 25 years. In addition to that I also volunteered for the department in the town I grew up in and later raised my family in.

The volunteer department was one of several in town that were all separate fire districts. Each had its own board of fire commissioners, constitution and by laws. They bought their own apparatus, paid call firefighters and volunteer stipends, had their own fire chief, fire officers and firefighters totally independent of each other. It has been like this since the 1860s. Over those 160+ years the districts have learned to work together not only at emergency scenes but have meetings a few times a year to discuss mutually funded situations like our inter-department technical rescue team.

Each fire district was created by state law. It was done this way so they could effectively tax their district residents for fire services. For many years each district used to do their own tax collection but in the early 90s they turned that over to the town for a 1% administrative fee. These fire districts can not be disbanded without a vote of the district taxpayers and then a second vote of the state legislature. Each year there is a district meeting where the residents approve the tax rate and budget for the upcoming fiscal year. There may be special meetings through out the year for large non budget items such as major building repairs or to purchase new apparatus.

I found working under a municipality vs working under a fire district was definitely different but I preferred the fire district. We always had the best equipment, the firefighters that are paid make very good wages and benefits, their training both in house and from the outside is outstanding for bother care we and volunteer personnel. Over the years I found the district more willing to listen to the firefighters and citizens then any municipality because that was their lone responsibility. While both are held accountable for spending, their actions, etc the district commissioners seemed to take their responsibilities more seriously and always strived to provide the best services to their districts.

A tax district to me is the way to go. As someone who has used the EMS service here the Villages FD paramedics are outstanding. AMR's personnel are also very good it's the management of that entire company nationwide that is poor. Since the end of May we used EMS twice for my 80 yr old mother who had difficulty breathing/minor heart attack. Both times VFD was here quickly somewhere around 4 minutes. It was the county service that was the issue. Each time we waited, the first time was around 20-25 minutes as they came from somewhere further west of us, the second time was slightly longer. I couldn't imagine waiting that long for help w/o the VFD paramedics.

It's been my experience when firefighters want to do something and believe in something to let them do it. These VFD members will continue to provide top notch services if they do this. Yes there will be costs for manpower and equipment but that's the cost of doing business. If it helps provide better, quicker, more efficient medical care I'm all for it.

I know this is probably all over the place but I wanted to give people who have never dealt with an independent taxing district an idea of what it is like. If you have any questions feel free to ask.