BOARDMAN — As the costs of providing fire and EMS services grow more unwieldy for local governments, some have begun to explore partnerships with neighboring communities to cut costs and better serve residents.

For Boardman Township, merging with neighboring Canfield’s Cardinal Joint Fire District may be the solution for both of them.

“We’re in the very beginning stages of looking at how we could merge with their district,” Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree said.

Loree has joined others in Boardman and Canfield on a committee to examine the possibility. He said the idea came from both internal conversations among trustees and conversations Trustee Tom Costello had with other Mahoning County officials about improving fire and EMS services countywide.

“We could try to do it on our own, which would involve a levy effort, or we could consider other ideas such as joining or forming a fire district like what they have in Canfield or Poland,” Loree said.

Loree said Boardman’s fire department receives about $700,000 annually from a levy but its budget is about $5.1 million to $5.2 million, leaving a deficit of $4.4 million, which it draws from the township’s general fund. Loree said Boardman simply does not have the resources to run EMS services like Canfield can.

“To try to add EMS services currently would be impossible,” he said. “With the collective bargaining agreement we have in place, the township is not in a position to hire people to do that.”

Loree said that to minimize the burden on the general fund, the township would have to appeal to voters to approve a “substantial levy, over 3 mills” for the fire department.

“That would keep it where it’s at with no improvement. To fund ambulances, it would have to be way more. And I don’t think residents would approve any levy that doesn’t give them better service.”

AMBULANCES

He said the township is working to negotiate a new contract with Lane LifeTrans, which currently keeps two ambulances running within the township as much as possible. If negotiations are successful, the township may have a third unit. But Loree said that service also comes with a cost.

“It becomes a challenge for them too, because they also serve other communities, and if we have to call out for assistance, it creates shortages for those other communities,” he said. Conversely, call outs from the other communities can leave Boardman shorthanded.

He said when Boardman officials approached Canfield about a possible merger, the numbers and the logistics began to make a lot of sense.

“The only way it works is if it improves services for Boardman Township and the Cardinal fire district,” Loree said.

IN THE KNOW

So far, those informed about the idea say it will serve both communities well.

“When the issue came up, I was very excited,” Western Reserve Fire District (Poland) Chief Chip Comstock said. “It has the potential to be one of the best fire districts in the state.”

Comstock would know. In addition to heading Poland’s joint fire district, he provides legal counsel for Boardman and Canfield’s departments, and would be the one to draft documents for both parties to review. Comstock has studied and helped to form joint fire districts across the state and country. Western Reserve district was formed in 1984.

“I’ve never been more excited about a merger than I am about the one proposed between Boardman and Canfield.”

He said the merger would meet Loree’s standards, if not exceed them.

EMS SERVICES

While Boardman needs EMS services, which Canfield has, the Cardinal district only has eight full-time firefighters and the National Fire Protection Association standard is a minimum of 15 responding to a call.

Comstock said he favors joint fire districts and mergers for many reasons, but the focused attention they bring to a specialized community need is among the most important.

“I’m a proponent because they’re focused exclusively on fire and EMS protection,” he said. “They’re a specialized board. In addition to fire and EMS professionals, you also have elected officials and community members and that brings a different perspective to the board.”

He said that kind of focus and composition provides a more complete understanding and, over time, leads to better decisions and increased efficiency in policies and finances.

SUPPORTER

Cardinal Chief Don Hutchison said he originally was unsure about the idea, but after many conversations he believes a merger would be the right move.

“Cardinal would benefit from having Boardman. We would have a full complement of firefighters ready to be trained as paramedics, and bring additional staffing to support the Cardinal system,” he said. “Boardman runs a very good fire response, and Cardinal runs a very good EMS response. So, the two of us would complement each other well.”

Hutichison said Canfield has four ambulances in service and regularly staffs three of them. “We’d look to duplicate that in Boardman, so response time would go down and there would always be something in motion for the next call,” he said.

He said vehicle and equipment costs would go down for both communities as well.

During a preliminary insurance evaluation, state inspectors told Hutchison that the merger would mean the department could reduce its fire vehicle fleet. Both Cardinal and Boardman have two ladder trucks each, and a district is only required to have three.

“He said we’d have two or three trucks we don’t need, so we could sell them off or just not replace them.” Hutchison said that reduction in vehicles could save the district $3 million over five years.

Comstock said the reduction in vehicles would provide further savings in the form of reduced insurance costs. He said increased staffing also would give Canfield and Boardman a better rating from the national Insurance Services Office, which would reduce insurance premiums for residents.

FUNDING

Hutchison said the communities both are consulting with Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham about how the funding specifics would affect residents. He said his understanding is that Boardman residents would pay the same millage as Canfield on the Cardinal JFD levy that brings in $3.7 million annually.

“The biggest thing I see is for Canfield residents there would be no change in taxes, and an actual increase in services.”

Loree said the potential for increased state and federal funding is another consideration, and Hutchison agrees.

“We applied for FEMA SAFER grant but didn’t have the staffing numbers to qualify for it,” Hutchison said. The grant would have provided another $400,000 in annual funding. Instead, the district had to ask residents to approve a 1.63-mill continuous levy that passed last year.

Hutchison and Loree said they are still consulting with their firefighter unions and other officials, including Mahoning County commissioners.

Loree said last week that he hopes, if the merger happens, the new district might eventually be appealing to other communities such as Poland and Austintown.

Comstock said he anticipates it would be an appealing district for many nearby communities to join, but only those that would fit well. He said Poland already has the WRFD, which would be a better option for other smaller communities such as Struthers, Campbell and Coitsville.

Comstock said a township such as Austintown would be a better fit for a merger with a district like Boardman and Canfield have proposed.

Austintown recently placed a 3.0-mill levy on the November ballot, with the hope of generating about $2 million to cover the increasing costs of fire and EMS services in the township. Austintown Chief Andy Frost could not be reached for comment about the possibility of merging with Boardman and Canfield.

Boardman fire Chief Mark Pitzer deferred to Loree to speak for the township, but did say he is “100 percent in favor of this idea.”