LOWER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — It could be a number of years before Lower Saucon Fire Rescue is ready to add a full-time chief at the helm, according to a department study from this past year.
It shows the membership currently faces rising operational costs, a lack of manpower and burnout, declining member buy-in, infighting among the ranks and “being torn down in Township meetings.”
But the study — directed by consultant Jerry Ozog, public safety specialist with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors — also provided potential direction for township officials and Lower Saucon Fire Rescue.
Township Council on Dec. 18, in a 3-2 vote, approved of Ozog’s recommendations to establish an open-to-the-public Fire Services Executive Committee for the township.
Council's vote also supports developing a proper fire services agreement between the township and LSFR, and implementing an official fire service budgeting process.
Part of the vote also called for the township to direct its solicitor to write up appropriate documents required to approve such a committee.
That and another vote of approval will serve as the next step.
Lower Saucon Fire Rescue is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, getting annual financial assistance through the township’s fire services tax revenue.
'A start in the right direction'
In June, Ozog was brought on to assist the township in managing the process of adding a new paid fire chief position to its ranks. Officials agreed to pay no more than $20,000 for his services on the matter.
Ozog ended up having to change course, he said.
“We’ve had fire services committees for years — nothing’s been really formalized. We believe this is the right step in moving forward.”Lower Saucon Fire Rescue Chief Ty Johnson, speaking on the incoming Fire Services Executive Committee
“I focused on de-emphasizing the concept of a [paid] fire chief early on in the process because the organization is not prepared, because we do not have a decision-making process, a committee,” he said.
LSFR Chief Ty Johnson said, “We’ve had fire services committees for years — nothing’s been really formalized. We believe this is the right step in moving forward.”
For now, the township should consider meeting monthly for at least three years, Ozog wrote.
From there, and if the township ultimately goes through with his advice as written, officials could move to a more defined schedule year to year.
That could come with annual report presentations to start the year, springtime updates, mid-year reviews, budget discussions in August and presentations on the spending plan come October, according to his recommendations.
Ozog began his meetings with officials in July, speaking with council members one on one and holding group discussions with fire force leadership, the acting township manager and councilwomen and fire services liaisons Victoria Opthof-Cordaro and Laura Ray.
Ozog also met with the fire department president and chief.
His work also lists the department’s greatest concerns; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; expectations from officials; and basic operational and financial data.
“I think this is a start in the right direction, and we’ll see where it goes,” Council President Priscilla deLeon said.
A learning process
Opthof-Cordaro said there needs to be a formal, detailed agreement between the township and fire company that highlights how the two parties will function alongside one another.
“When I hear from them that they need help from the township, I believe it’s my obligation as an elected official to support them, to allow them to come here as a volunteer and express what their needs are," Ophthof-Cordaro said.
"But also respect them, provide them dignity and a thank you, and not give them nicknames and insults and interrogate them as if they’re on trial for a murder.”
“When we started out at the beginning of the year... We were thinking, ‘We may well need a paid fire chief.’ However, we didn’t know what we didn’t know, and we’ve learned a lot over the year."Lower Saucon Township Councilwoman Laura Ray
Ray said, “When we started out at the beginning of the year, we kind of had in our mind, we were thinking, ‘We may well need a paid fire chief.’
"However, we didn’t know what we didn’t know, and we’ve learned a lot over the year.
“And Jerry’s helped us learn a lot; he kind of pointed us in different directions and made it clear that we really need to look at the bigger picture.”
Back in June, Acting Township Manager Cathy Gorman said she had been involved with the Fire Services Committee for nearly 15 years, and the subject of a paid fire chief had been an “on-and-off” topic for about a decade.
'Unbelievable'
Banonis and Carocci, who were the dissenting votes, said the study really didn’t tell the township anything it didn’t already know.
“We paid $20,000 to be told what to do; it’s unbelievable,” Carocci said.
Carocci said that during his first conversation with Ozog, he stressed the word “transparency.” He asked Ozog a number of times why that word wasn’t included anywhere in the study.
“Transparency” is listed on page 6 of the report under “Expectations” for LSFR.
That section states council members were interviewed through an online survey, with some other answers including integrity, fiscal responsibility and open communication with council.
Banonis said he wanted to have a deeper look at the reported call data instead of the synopsis offered by Ozog.
Ozog called the data sets from the county dispatch center “very complex” and “difficult to figure out” for the masses. An official agreement between the township and fire department would include a closer look into that, he said.
“We paid $20,000 to be told what to do; it’s unbelievable."Lower Saucon Township Councilman Thomas Carocci
Banonis said the department could potentially be “padding those numbers to create the appearance of being busier than they truly are.”
Ozog said a part of those calls could very well have come from low-profile cases that were called off after a brief period, whether it happened 30 seconds after the call was dispatched or two minutes.
“What’s telling to me is we paid $20,000 for a report that says we should have a committee when we had a committee that was disbanded,” Banonis said.
“They’re going to create a new committee that’s going to game it so that they can reach the conclusion for somebody to become fire chief.”
“I appreciate people that volunteer their time to do this. It’s very important for the community that we have volunteers that are committed to this.
“They’re good-hearted people, they’re sincere, they’re hard-working, they spend time training, they spend time collaborating, they spend time maintaining equipment and maintaining firehouses
"And I appreciate all that because they take that out of their busy days. But at the same time, I’m also responsible for the taxpayer dollars.”
A new committee
Chief Johnson said the move would be “just formalizing” the new committee, which would include the fire president and fire chief, township manager or designee, two council members to serve as liaisons and two citizens-at-large.
The township has had something similar for a couple of decades, he said; the previous Fire Services Committee didn’t disband — it just changed under the new administration.
The former group’s meetings weren’t open to the public either, officials said.
Later in the discussion, Johnson said he sent proper county call volumes to Banonis.
“Four months later,” Banonis said.
Johnson said, “Well, that’s how long things take.” He said the department will be busy with about 950 calls this year.
Call volumes also have been sent monthly by email from the county to the township, Johnson said.
'When you call 911 ... '
Banonis and Johnson also disagreed about what was said to be a lack of communication between the department and the Republican council members since the Democratic members took the panel majority earlier this year.
During a lull in the action, Ozog and Johnson said something to one another away from the mic. Banonis then asked if they had a friendly relationship.
Carocci, who had previously served on the township’s Fire Services Committee, said something away from the mic that was inaudible.
"This idea that we shouldn’t ask questions of where our money is going when there is all this hostility, when people are walking out of the meetings who are responsible for that money — that concerns me.”Barrett Geyer, Lower Saucon Township resident
“Tom, what the hell is your problem?” Johnson asked Carocci.
“Do you agree to not take the [paid] position?” Banonis asked the fire chief, as Johnson gathered his things and walked out of the room alongside fellow department personnel in attendance.
The group got a standing ovation from the audience and a couple of the council minority.
“This idea that we shouldn’t ask questions of where our money is going when there is all this hostility, when people are walking out of the meetings who are responsible for that money — that concerns me,” Township resident Barrett Geyer later said.
Another local, Kathy Pichel McGovern, told council, “When you call 911, you want the fire company to be there. You don’t want to be waiting; it’s devastating.”
