[villagesff]

Originally Posted by bakon

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

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.

[BlackhawksFan]

Originally Posted by villagesff

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

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?

[Roger W. Sherman]

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.

[RayAmb]

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.

[oldtimes]

///

[villagesff]

Originally Posted by KRMACK55

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.

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.

[Kevin Knussman]

Originally Posted by villagesff

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

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.

[DeeCee Dubya]

…. 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]

[oldtimes]

Originally Posted by DeeCee Dubya

…. 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.

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

[BlackhawksFan]

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.

[DAVES]

For me this is like reading book 6 of a ten volume set. Our fire and emt service is great.
Surely, my fault, I was not aware the Villages is separately funded.
Normal current government is to equalize. Take from what works to support what does not. Result is that the best will deteriorate and the worst will get better.
Reality. For me it is all like reading a mystery and someone told you how it ends.

[villagesff]

Originally Posted by Kevin Knussman

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.

Call the Villages Public Safety Department or stop in at any Villages Fire Station. Grab one of us when we’re out. All will explain the situation to you, they also have informational flyers to pass out.
Go to the Sumter BOCC meetings and let them know how you feel
Email, write and call your commissioner

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by BlackhawksFan

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.

We also lived in a town with a volunteer fire dept. They would regularly, aggressively, shake us down to donate to them. Hum, after we paid off our mortgage and so were paying our tax bill direct. Our taxes paid for the fire equipment including the new truck, new fire house etc. Our donation and we gave quite a bit was to cover beer etc.

As far as government, I view it as a necessary EVIL. I do a lot of research before voting.
I do my best not to deal with any of them.

[Darlene Lansing]

I plan to attend the meeting ,
But in the event I can’t make it , how do I contact our Board if Commissioners .
Please provide the contact info !

[oldtimes]

///