Lafayette Professional Firefighters

10/1/2008

Issue 2A crucial to public safety

Guest Editorial
By Joe Navarro

This November, Lafayette voters will be asked to vote on Issue 2A, a mill levy to support the Lafayette Fire Department. As a volunteer firefighter/EMT and a resident of Lafayette, I know that the safety of our community is dependent on the passage of 2A. This is literally a vote about the quality of help you or a fellow resident will receive when you call 911.

Nearly a quarter of the time, Lafayette does not have enough firefighters, volunteer or paid, to staff the fire truck and ambulances. Understaffing results in a severely delayed response as volunteers are called in and neighboring agencies are asked to respond. Without 2A, you may have to wait up to 15 minutes for a response to your emergency. This is unacceptable and a risk to the safety of Lafayette residents. 2A will ensure that the Lafayette Fire Department is staffed by a full crew of firefighters and two medic units at all times by bringing on eight new paid staff members and 20-30 volunteers. With 2A, the fire department will have adequate resources to save lives in emergencies.

In addition to adding new staff, 2A will allow the fire department to budget and save for new capital equipment. Right now, there is no sales tax based way for the city to save for this equipment. In 2007, the Lafayette Fire Department purchased a new fire truck to replace one that was 26 years old. While we are grateful to the city and the taxpayers for this new equipment, we cannot deny that soon other equipment will need to be replaced.

2A will increase the number of volunteer firefighters at the Lafayette Fire Department. Volunteers save the city over half a million dollars a year with the time and labor they donate. This measure will increase their training and retention rates. This increase in volunteer staff will allow us not only to save lives, but come home safely at the end of each shift to our families.

2A will not add a substantial tax increase for Lafayette residents. The cost to a homeowner with an assessed property value of $250,000 is $8.37 a month. Please note, this is your assessed value, not your market value. The cost will be low and our cost per capita will still be the lowest of our neighboring cities.

Unfortunately, the Lafayette Fire Department can no longer sustain itself on sales tax revenue. Lafayette currently brings in one of the lowest amounts of sales tax revenue, ranking 25th out of 29 metro area cities. There is no adequate way to provide fire and emergency protection through sales tax revenue without cutting back on other services like snow plowing, the library, or road/utility maintenance. If the sales tax general fund cannot give the citizens the services they need, a new source of income must be tapped to pay for essential functions.

This is why I am asking you to vote yes on Issue 2A this election. Simply put, the Lafayette Fire Department can no longer continue in its current situation. The passage of issue 2A is not a luxury, nor is it a crushing burden on Lafayette residents. The costs are minuscule compared to the reward of a life rescued, a home kept from destruction or the victim of a car accident saved. As a volunteer firefighter, I know that everyday and every hour there is someone in our community who will need help. If and when that time comes, we all want to know that we can trust our local fire department to respond quickly, competently and with reliable equipment. Vote “Yes” on 2A and support Lafayette Fire.

For more information on 2A, please visit the Committee to Support Lafayette Fire Web site at www.supportlafayettefire.org.

Editor’s Note: Joe Navarro serves as Chairperson to the Firefighter Committee to Support Lafayette Fire and Ambulance.

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Letters to the Editor Blog

Posted by Camera Staff 

Linda Radclliffe: Lafayette 2A: a small, but necessary, price to pay

Posted October 8, 2008

Lafayette citizens have a wonderful opportunity to make a statement about their community values with Ballot Issue 2A, which is asking for a small, dedicated source of income for the fire department and ambulance service. I know it’s difficult not to automatically vote ‘no’ for anything that says “tax” in this economy, but this tax is for a basic, life or death issue.The great thing about having these services in-house (provided by the City) is that we don’t have to rely upon an outside service for EMT expertise. Any way you look at it, the taxpayer gets more bang for the buck. We’re supporting our own and getting a two-fer efficiency deal.You call 911 about a fire. The department rolls (and can reach you within a few minutes). They can put out the fire, AND give you critical life saving treatment if need be - saving your property - saving your life.I’ve heard a lot about the value of the volunteer fire department we used to have … and that’s absolutely true, and god bless ‘em. But as more and more folks have to work harder in this economy to stay afloat financially, there is less time for the time-consuming volunteer dedication that has served our community so well in the past. We need folks who are there and at the ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and we need equipment that’s up to the task … and that takes money.Do we value this essential service enough to spend a few extra bucks to support it? As a person who woke up unexpectedly inside an ambulance a while back … I say yes, it’s a small price to pay - for ourselves, our neighbors, and our community.Linda RadcliffeLafayette

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