(June 22, 2017) The Town of Berlin is proceeding with plans to commission a study of the Berlin Fire Company’s operations and how they relate to its financial needs, according to Town Administrator Laura Allen.
In the fiscal year 2018 budget, passed unanimously by the Town Council last week, the fire company received $250,000 in unrestricted funds, plus $150,000 contingent on the study.
Part of the $150,000 will pay for the study, which is estimated to cost much less than that amount. After the study is finished, Berlin Fire Company will receive the balance of the money.
Allen said the report would consist of “every component of [the fire company’s] operation,” including staffing, equipment, facilities and training.
“It’s what does the community need, or what does [the fire company] need to best serve the community given the types of structures we have, the types of calls they’re getting, and changes that they see as our population ages and more young families come in,” Allen said.
“I’m not an expert in fire services, so we’re looking for somebody who is and there are consulting firms who have done this kind of work.”
The proposed Station Three, a building the fire company has reportedly collected $1.2 million to build, would be a part of that analysis, Allen said.
“Do they need that station, who should be paying for that station, should that station be funded – all of that [would be in the study],” she said.
Allen said she believed a fire company meeting with the mayor and council last Monday went well.
“The council, I thought, did a good job of flushing out the issues and articulating them to the fire company. They’re concerned, and I think it was helpful for that to have happened in a public forum,” she said. “The fire company, I thought, did a very detailed job of explaining their budget and they came prepared to answer questions. I thought that was a good sign as well.”
As for the study, Allen said the town has boilerplate requests for proposals documents it uses for professional services. She will write a scope of services to go with that.
“I already have a draft scope, but I don’t want to put it out until we’ve had a conversation with the fire company about what they would like to include, if anything,” Allen said. “What I heard from the mayor and council is they want to work collaboratively with the fire company. I’ve reached out to [Fire Company President] David Fitzgerald to see if there’s a particular consultant that he wanted to include in the solicitation and any questions or topics that he wants. I’m giving him a couple of weeks to do that.”
She said the town would advertise in local papers and through Demandstar, a service that about 400 government agencies use to solicit bids.
“We also might know a couple of companies that do this kind of work, so we usually direct mail or email the proposal to them as part of the process,” Allen said. “There’s no firm deadline yet. I think the best way to characterize it is, we’re reaching out to the fire company to see what they’d like to include, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Fitzgerald did not respond to requests for additional comment.
In the fiscal year 2018 budget, passed unanimously by the Town Council last week, the fire company received $250,000 in unrestricted funds, plus $150,000 contingent on the study.
Part of the $150,000 will pay for the study, which is estimated to cost much less than that amount. After the study is finished, Berlin Fire Company will receive the balance of the money.
Allen said the report would consist of “every component of [the fire company’s] operation,” including staffing, equipment, facilities and training.
“It’s what does the community need, or what does [the fire company] need to best serve the community given the types of structures we have, the types of calls they’re getting, and changes that they see as our population ages and more young families come in,” Allen said.
“I’m not an expert in fire services, so we’re looking for somebody who is and there are consulting firms who have done this kind of work.”
The proposed Station Three, a building the fire company has reportedly collected $1.2 million to build, would be a part of that analysis, Allen said.
“Do they need that station, who should be paying for that station, should that station be funded – all of that [would be in the study],” she said.
Allen said she believed a fire company meeting with the mayor and council last Monday went well.
“The council, I thought, did a good job of flushing out the issues and articulating them to the fire company. They’re concerned, and I think it was helpful for that to have happened in a public forum,” she said. “The fire company, I thought, did a very detailed job of explaining their budget and they came prepared to answer questions. I thought that was a good sign as well.”
As for the study, Allen said the town has boilerplate requests for proposals documents it uses for professional services. She will write a scope of services to go with that.
“I already have a draft scope, but I don’t want to put it out until we’ve had a conversation with the fire company about what they would like to include, if anything,” Allen said. “What I heard from the mayor and council is they want to work collaboratively with the fire company. I’ve reached out to [Fire Company President] David Fitzgerald to see if there’s a particular consultant that he wanted to include in the solicitation and any questions or topics that he wants. I’m giving him a couple of weeks to do that.”
She said the town would advertise in local papers and through Demandstar, a service that about 400 government agencies use to solicit bids.
“We also might know a couple of companies that do this kind of work, so we usually direct mail or email the proposal to them as part of the process,” Allen said. “There’s no firm deadline yet. I think the best way to characterize it is, we’re reaching out to the fire company to see what they’d like to include, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Fitzgerald did not respond to requests for additional comment.