Mayor Coble and Members of Council;

We thank you for your time this evening. The Columbia Firefighters Association is here to speak with council in order to address major concerns our association is having with recent council approved expenditures that are directly impacting areas of public safety. Some of the most pressing concerns are centered on the proposed efficiency study with Equaterra and the impact of the ongoing budget cuts are having on public safety with in your community; including the proposed Special TIF district.

1) First and foremost, we are concerned with the proposed efficiency study. For starters, the sheer cost of this study, even with the reduced rate they have agreed to provide their services, is money desperately needed in essential services such as the Police and Fire Department. Speaking specifically on the Fire Department, funding cuts have removed the ability of our department to fix our fire training “burn” building needed to certify both new and current fire fighters in interior fire certification. Additionally, the $1.5 million transferred from the Fire Department or the even more recent $480,000 transferred to Parks and Recreation from the Liquor Rebate Fund could have been used on existing Public Safety infrastructure or expanding a much needed joint Public Safety training facility that has been requested and rejected for several years. Funding for firefighter training has been slashed and has already impacted services and response abilities the department can provide. Your city firefighters and administration are doing the absolute best job they can with the limited resources they have been given.

2) We agree that an evaluation of every city department needs to happen, but we feel there are qualified and capable resources within the city itself that can perform cost comparisons, department expenditures, personnel performance as compared to comparable cities our size. As part of this process, our organization in conjunction with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) has performed a preliminary Geographical Information System (GIS) study on the current response abilities of the Columbia Fire Department. Today, we are releasing the first set of maps in a series over the next several weeks detailing the severity the budget cuts have affected the well–being of citizens in Columbia and those living in Richland County.

3) The GIS maps show that the city’s ability to meet federally recognized NFPA 1710 Compliance standards has dropped from 83.4% to 73.3% with the closures of Engines 8 and Engines 9. Prudent cities should strive to achieve a 90–95% compliance with NFPA 1710. These closures are an immediate threat to the life safety off all citizens living in and around USC Campus, Shandon, Kings Grant, Old Woodlands, and over a dozen more neighborhoods. This does not take into account the fact that units may already be out on emergency calls; further reducing our actual ability to meet this federally recognized fire department response standard. By taking these two critical pieces of fire apparatus out of service, it also limits the department’s ability to cover storm outbreaks or multiple incidents. This is a serious threat to the public safety of your elect.

4) Because of this, public safety is in dire need of funding and, therefore, we cannot endorse any action by Council that further diverts tax revenue from local government services that affect public safety. Council’s plan to create a special tax district will continue to strangle the city’s ability to support continuing public safety needs, not to mention the ability to grow in the areas council is looking to enhance. With two Fire Engines shut down due to budget constraints and the zero–funding of several essential fire personnel, prudent decisions must be made on what is essential and nonessential immediately.

We have met with many of you personally and believe we all want a safe and clean city to live in. That is why today the Columbia Firefighters Association is here today calling for action, and proof that Public Safety is in fact a priority and not a newspaper quote of support. We hold an open invitation to any councilor wishing to meet with us to discuss this city–wide impact on public safety concerns and priority budgeting.