Hollister
– If the City Council’s proposed budget cuts are adopted, local
residents could see delayed response times from the Hollister Fire
Department.
Hollister – If the City Council’s proposed budget cuts are adopted, local residents could see delayed response times from the Hollister Fire Department.
In order to solve the city’s budget woes, City Manager Clint Quilter proposed cuts Wednesday that would eliminate two firefighter positions and four police officer positions. The proposed cuts would mean the fire department would be forced to operate without a ladder truck one-third of the time due to the loss of an engineer position. It could also mean the Hollister Police Department would give low or no priority to certain property crimes, forcing citizens to self-report crimes such as thefts and vandalism with no suspects.
In all, the position and clerical staff cuts from the fire and police departments would contribute $698,000 to the city’s deficit reduction compared to $494,000 from other city departments.
Hollister Fire Capt. Bob Martin Del Campo believes the loss of a truck company would not only put the community’s safety at risk, but also that of the firefighters.
“If we get a structure fire and we don’t have a truck we’re leaving ourselves wide open,” Martin Del Campo said.
Martin Del Campo said reducing numbers could make the city liable in a potential wrongful death lawsuit should a firefighter die in the line of duty.
The number of firefighters in the Hollister Fire Department is already below recommended national standards, Martin Del Campo said. The national standard is one firefighter per 1,000 residents, he said.
With 24 firefighters, Hollister is at 0.63 firefighters per 1,000 residents. The proposed cut of two firefighters would put the Fire Department at 0.57 firefighters per 1,000 residents.
Fewer firefighters could also mean higher property insurance rates for local home and business owners.
The Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification program grades a community’s fire protection on a scale of one to 10, taking into account a community’s alarm and dispatch efficiency, water supply, equipment, training and personnel.
Although every insurance company sets its own rates, an increase in the ISO rating could mean an increase in property insurance costs for not only homes but office buildings as well. A fire department’s personnel accounts for 24 percent of the rating.
“As recent as last year, we moved our ISO rating from five to three,” Martin Del Campo said. “(Cuts are) definitely going to have an effect on the ISO rating.”
The Fire Department has eight full-time firefighters available on any given shift. The loss of a truck company would reduce the number of full-time firefighters to six every three days.
“It’ll make us more prone to injury,” Martin Del Campo said. “Particularly if we try to do a rescue, we’ll have the engine playing a dual role.”
Martin Del Campo said the absence of a truck company could make for delayed responses to fires if one of Hollister’s two engine companies is tied up on another call. The truck company also handles vehicle accidents in which the Jaws of Life are necessary for rescue.
Brenda Black, who has lived in Hollister for five years, said she hears fire engine sirens in town frequently.
“It would be unthinkable to have an incident were you would be in that 24-hour period,” Black said. “It would be like playing the lottery.”
The fire and police departments are the only departments that depend solely on the city’s general fund for resources, Hollister Mayor Brad Pike said Wednesday.
Pike, a former Saratoga firefighter, urged city council members to consider the effects of cutting public safety not only to the community, but also to the men and women who work to ensure it.
“I’ve been to too many funerals for too many friends and it’s something you can’t take back once it’s happened,” Pike said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
