Beaufort mayor suggests hard look at services, expenses, revenues for fire department
Faced with a potential 2016 budget $700,000 in the red and a controversial public safety fee that could raise $900,000, Mayor Billy Keyserling said it's time for the city of Beaufort to have difficult discussions about spending on Tuesday night.
Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Chief Sammy Negron balked when Keyserling broached the idea of a volunteer fire service or reducing medical emergency response.
"We have an acceptable level of service that our citizens expect from our fire department," Negron said. "The fire department today does more than just put fires out. We're the first line of defense for all kinds of calls."
The topic came up in the course of discussing Negron's department budget for next year during the City Council work session. Also presented was the municipal court budget. The public works budget was postponed until May 12 because of time constraints.
The presentations are part of a series planned over the next several meetings as staff and council develop the fiscal year 2016 budget. The budget must be approved by June 30 and takes effect July 1.
Finance director Kathy Todd provided a preliminary budget for the city showing $17.8 million in expenses. She is estimating the city will have $17.1 million in revenue. The requested budget for 2016 is about $250,000 more than originally planned for 2015 and $50,000 less than the amended budget.
The bulk of the financial discussions Tuesday revolved around the fire department's $3.2 million requested budget. The town of Port Royal pays about 24 percent of fire service costs.
Keyserling looked at the number and types of responses and was concerned that more than 800 of the 1,500 responses within the city were for medical calls.
"These numbers would lead me to believe we're not getting the service from (Beaufort County) EMS that we should be getting," he said.
Firefighters respond to medical calls as a courtesy, Negron said. Because they are usually on scene faster, they can make a difference in an emergency, he said.
Keyserling questioned whether the county could pay the city for those responses, but Negron said he's brought it up to the county and has been denied.
Keyserling asked for a break out of costs associated with medical calls, which Negron said is mostly vehicle maintenance.
"I just want to double check to make sure we're not overspending and doing things we're not required to do," Keyserling said. "... I don't have the answer, but I think this is the kind of budget discussion we need to have this year, because the reality is we can't over-service if we don't have the money."
Negron pointed out that the fire department is staffed 24/7 and, therefore, regardless of what they're doing during that time, firefighters are on the clock and available. Keyserling asked Negron to consider what the department would look like if the medical-response services were not provided.
More budget presentations and a public hearing will continue May 12. Among the issues are the public safety fee, which would go directly to support police and fire services.
The fee would be based upon the appraised value of a piece of property and would equal .05 percent of that value. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the fee would be $100 a year.
The fee would apply equally to all properties in the city, including those owned by nonprofits and churches that are exempt from property taxes. The idea of charging a fee in lieu of taxes on those properties has been raised repeatedly over the years but has never been approved.
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Related content:
- Proposed safety fee back up for consideration in Beaufort, could apply to nonprofits, April 25, 2015
- Beaufort considers public safety fee to patch anticipated $700,000 revenue shortfall, April 21, 2015
- Beaufort City Council: More revenue needed for tight budget, Feb. 23, 2015
This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Beaufort mayor suggests hard look at services, expenses, revenues for fire department."