MI Residents Oppose Fire, Police Merger

BUENA VISTA TWP., MI — A proposal to merge Buena Vista Charter Township’s police and fire departments was met with opposition from concerned residents at a Friday afternoon town hall, with township officials and workers struggling to find consensus.

The proposal, according to a presentation by township Supervisor Christina Dillard, would consolidate the two departments into one public safety department, with some police officers training to also fight fires. The new department would have two full-time and one part-time fire positions, down from eight full-time fire positions. To compensate, the proposal would increase the number of volunteer “paid on-call," or POC, firefighters from 11 to 20.

The Buena Vista Board of Trustees tabled action on the proposal at its last meeting after community backlash. In her presentation, Dillard said the township will not be able to sustain its budget in the near future without changes.

“We are looking for ways as a township to not only save money, but to be a township in the future,” Dillard said. “Operating how we are right now, we won’t make it.”

Arguments from those in attendance, many of them current or retired public safety officials, had a range of oppositions to the proposal. Some were concerned a lapse in the township’s fire safety would lead to higher insurance rates and hurt area business in a time when the township, with a population that is both aging and shrinking, needs to attract more development. Many said they do not want to lose the quality of service Buena Vista current has.

Noel Wagner, a medical director overseeing EMS in Saginaw County, said the township’s cardiac arrest survival rate is almost four times the state average.

“From my perspective... Buena Vista has been the crown jewel of Saginaw County,” Wagner said. “If I go down right now, my chances of living are better because I went down in Buena Vista.”

Matthew Dennings, a Carrollton firefighter, said he volunteers with the Buena Vista department as a POC. He was skeptical the department could find enough volunteer firefighters to keep the department’s response time acceptable. He said only four of the department’s current POCs show up regularly, two of them are at least 70 years old, and none of them are Buena Vista residents. Living outside of the township, he’s at least 12 minutes away from the station, much less the scene, he said.

“We don’t have the residents in BV (for) volunteers,” Dennings said. “...We’ll take any ideas you want to throw to help recruit more people.”

Dan Evans, a retired Buena Vista firefighter of 23 years, said Buena Vista police are already overworked and putting firefighting responsibilities on them, including hundreds of hours of extra training, was unfeasible and could lead to the township’s remaining police officers leaving.

“We want to put an additional 2,000 calls a year on a police department where... most times, you have two police officers covering 36 square miles?” Evans said. “You can’t expect our police officers to take that kind of a beating, they take a beating bad enough."

Fire Chief Aaron Hoeppner shared many of the concerns, expressed a willingness to negotiate with the trustees, echoing suggestions such as “regionalizing” the department. Most of the department, him included, would be willing to make concessions rather than lose their jobs, he said.

The township has contract negotiations scheduled with the police department next week, Superintendent Torrie McAfee said. To preserve the township’s pension funding, something will have to give, whether or not the proposal is accepted, she said.

“If we don’t go to this, somehow, someway, there are cuts coming on both sides,” Police Chief Reggie Williams said. “We’re going to lose bodies, one way or another."

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