Fire Service Consolidation

At tonight's City of Kissimmee Commission Meeting, staff is requesting "approval" to allow the staff of the city to enter into discussions with Osceola County and St. Cloud regarding consolidating Fire and EMS operations. Approval by the commission on this issue opens a back door approach to discussion on how the government is going to cut back on the public safety services you are paying for. We have just one question, if downsizing of public safety services was good for the community, why not have open public meetings on the proceedings?

The simple answer to the question? Consolidation is not good for our firefighters, EMS personnel, or our community. This renewed and panicked attempt by the County to ram consolidation through at this time is only because the county has run itself out of money. They need to downsize public safety services while charging the residents more for them. The issue really is that simple.

How can the county be strapped for cash you ask? Well technically, they are not. They are strapped in the sense that they do not have the money they need to fund the "special" projects that make them popular with their developer and regional friends. These are the same projects they have been pushing during their time of windfall property tax profits. They have spent all of the extra money they were bringing in, and now that the housing market has all but shut down, they cannot afford the lavish lifestyle they were used to. Add to this the property tax relief that the responsible voters of Florida just approved, and you have a recipe for controlled spending in your local governments, and of course, they don't want any part of that.

Paying for public safety services such as Police, Fire, and EMS should be the first item in the budget for government, not last under a new Expo Center or government subsidized wireless Internet program. Police, Fire and EMS services are the backbone of any community and a major measurement of what residents consider their Quality of Life. Downsizing these services and reducing safety personnel will not improve our community.

You might wonder why "consolidated" public safety is not in the best interest of the citizens when it could reduce cost and eliminate redundant expenses? The question should really be, how can the services cost less when you still need the same amount of people and equipment to protect our community? We would also point out the other failed departments in the county and how commissioners routinely take money from vital departments to fund their own pet projects. The Sheriff's Department is a prime example of the county only funding public safety services enough to keep them afloat. Lack of spending controls at departments such as the TDC are proof enough the county is not up to being trusted with our safety on their own.

As far as the decision faced by the Kissimmee City Commission tonight, we would urge you to dig a little deeper into the reasons the county is pushing this item so hard at this time. Mayor Swan has stated many times how serious he and the rest of the commission are about the health, welfare, and safety of their community and now is the time to prove it. If you decide to enter into talks, take a much more active role in any discussions on this issue before you decide to blindly allow the county to compromise the excellent public safety services your residents have come to expect.

If your plan is to push through with consolidation, then we suggest instead of giving your residents subsidized Internet access, that you subsidized the purchases of garden hoses so we can at least protect ourselves and our property.