Collier voters should consider fire, EMS agency consolidation
There are many ways to evaluate a fire agency. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) rates fire departments and their surrounding communities which partially influences fire insurance rates.
The ISO rating scaler: 1 is best while a 10 means the fire department did not meet ISO's minimum requirements. The current ISO Ratings are: Naples Fire - Rated 1 (entire district); North Collier Fire - Rated 2/10 (2 for areas within 5 miles of a station) and (10 does not meet minimum for areas beyond 5 miles and beyond 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant); Marco Island Fire - Rated 3 (entire district); Greater Naples Fire - Rated 3/10; and Immokalee Fire - Rated 5/5x (5 for those areas within 5 miles of a station and 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply) and 5X (data not provided for areas within 5 road miles of a fire station, but beyond 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply or for properties beyond 5 miles of a station).
Fire agencies perform building inspections, public education and other public service and safety activities. As most activities are their emergency responses, (84% being Medical, 1% Fire, and the remaining 15% Rescue and other) another comparison measurement could be dividing their total budget by the total number of 911 calls responded to. (Most responses require one unit, while fires require multiple units). The resulting “average cost/response” for fiscal year Oct. 2022/Sept 2023 budgets and dividing by their total of incident responses: Collier County EMS ambulances responded to all 51,550 emergency medical calls. Budget was $48,288,181 = $937/response (2,044 square miles coverage). The fire agencies' numbers were: Naples Fire, $13,488,898, provided 3,432 responses = $3,930/response (17 square miles coverage); North Collier Fire, $52,955,878, provided 23,149 responses = $2,287/response (264 square miles coverage); Marco Island Fire, $7,356,584, provided 3,686 responses = $1,995/response (17 square miles coverage); Greater Naples Fire, $54,571,464, provided 27,611 responses = $1,976/response (1,512 square miles coverage); Immokalee Fire, $7,326,437, provided 4,942 responses = $1,482/response (234 square miles coverage).
The tax rates for the independent fire agencies are: North Collier Fire 1.0 mills, Greater Naples Fire 1.5 mills, Isles of Capri Fire 1.5 mills, Big Corkscrew Fire 3.75 mills, Immokalee Fire 3.75 mills, Ochopee Fire 4.0 mills. The average appraised value for existing homes in unincorporated Collier County has increased 13.5% over the past fiscal year, thus will the average Independent Fire Agency tax to be paid by property owners.
Perhaps a "Non-Binding Straw Vote Question" could be placed on the March 2024 Collier County Presidential Primary ballot, "Asking voters what they currently think of further independent fire agency consolidations or the complete consolidation of all fire and EMS agencies into one agency." Thus, our city, county, and independent fire agency elected representatives will know what the residents/taxpayers who need these critical services prefer.
Marvin L. Easton was an IBM International consultant for 13 years in Asia and two years in Eastern Europe after working 21 years for IBM in computer marketing and management jobs in the USA. Retiring in Naples in 1997 he has previously been involved with efforts to consolidate the Collier County independent fire agencies. He served on the Boards of Directors for the Port Royal Property Owner's Association, Naples Council on World Affairs, International Men's Club of America, Collier Citizen's Council, Greater Naples Leadership, Forum Club of Southwest Florida, Naples City Blue Ribbon Finance Committee, Naples Planning Advisory Board, and Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce serving on the Chamber's Government Committee.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Collier voters should consider fire, EMS agency consolidation
