Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sylvania Township Update - December 2008
Topics have been piling up in the last 2 months. The end of the year has been so busy, and I want to get some of this information out before year end, so here is an update on roads, fire, my thoughts on government bail outs and Life Squad billing, and Wind River.
Watch The Roads This Winter
Be careful on the roads this winter. Information has come to me that the county has cut back on its plowing/salting of county roads this year due to the high expense of salt and a corresponding salt shortage as well as budget concerns regarding the cost of overtime. Numerous factors contributed to a salt shortage this year; the county has 25% less salt than the last 5 year average of salt use for this season's winter weather. This has resulted in a decision to decrease salt application by 50%.
Budget concerns have also prompted the county to cut in half the manpower used in salting and plowing roads during the overnight hours.
At the township, our budget allows for continued use of overtime when the weather dictates the need, but we are conserving salt resources and have reduced application rates by 1/3 in order to make sure we have enough salt to last the season.
Remember - the township maintains neighborhood/subdivision roads, while the county maintains the major thoroughfares such as McCord, Sylvania, King, Whiteford, etc.
I don't know if the Ohio Department of Taxation has changed their policy regarding salting/plowing Central Ave. and 23/475 this season. But either way, be cautious on the roads this season. They may not be as clear of ice and hazardous snow as we are used to.
Budget concerns have also prompted the county to cut in half the manpower used in salting and plowing roads during the overnight hours.
At the township, our budget allows for continued use of overtime when the weather dictates the need, but we are conserving salt resources and have reduced application rates by 1/3 in order to make sure we have enough salt to last the season.
Remember - the township maintains neighborhood/subdivision roads, while the county maintains the major thoroughfares such as McCord, Sylvania, King, Whiteford, etc.
I don't know if the Ohio Department of Taxation has changed their policy regarding salting/plowing Central Ave. and 23/475 this season. But either way, be cautious on the roads this season. They may not be as clear of ice and hazardous snow as we are used to.
Fire Station 3 To Be Relocated
The Trustees discuss progress on the fire levy at almost every meeting, but sometimes the details don't make it to the community in general. Our most recent step in implementing the fire levy plans is approval to purchase land at 5046 and 5056 Haddon Road which is at the corner of Whiteford and Haddon, just north of Monroe Street. This property encompasses just over an acre and was purchased for $100,000.
While our levy proposal did not include costs for the purchase of land, we are comfortable with this purchase price and with the remainder value of the current fire station location at the corner of Whiteford and Monroe.
As far as plans for the other fire stations, those are moving forward as well. Station 4 will be undergoing renovations over the winter which will move department headquarters from Station 1 (downtown Sylvania) to the station on Sylvania Avenue. We awarded contracts for the general construction, HVAC, plumbing and electrical at this week's meeting, contracts which came in under budget by about 8% for this portion of the building plan.
We are still considering new locations for Station 2 (Central/475). Finding property that is available, affordable, and that meet our needs with regard to location and size has been more challenging for Station 2 given the heavy traffic and land prices in the Central Avenue area. We are considering several options and hope to have property under contract before the end of the year.
With regard to Station 1 in downtown Sylvania, we are working with the city to relocate this facility. While a location was initially identified earlier this year, it was later eliminated due to logistical concerns. We have not received any other proposals regarding new locations for Station 1 from the city since then. Since Station 1 was scheduled to be the last to be rebuilt (in 2010), we still have time to consider a new location. If a new location cannot be identified (and there are similar concerns with regard to availability, affordability, and location), we have already confirmed that a new station can be built at the site of the current Station 1.
While our levy proposal did not include costs for the purchase of land, we are comfortable with this purchase price and with the remainder value of the current fire station location at the corner of Whiteford and Monroe.
As far as plans for the other fire stations, those are moving forward as well. Station 4 will be undergoing renovations over the winter which will move department headquarters from Station 1 (downtown Sylvania) to the station on Sylvania Avenue. We awarded contracts for the general construction, HVAC, plumbing and electrical at this week's meeting, contracts which came in under budget by about 8% for this portion of the building plan.
We are still considering new locations for Station 2 (Central/475). Finding property that is available, affordable, and that meet our needs with regard to location and size has been more challenging for Station 2 given the heavy traffic and land prices in the Central Avenue area. We are considering several options and hope to have property under contract before the end of the year.
With regard to Station 1 in downtown Sylvania, we are working with the city to relocate this facility. While a location was initially identified earlier this year, it was later eliminated due to logistical concerns. We have not received any other proposals regarding new locations for Station 1 from the city since then. Since Station 1 was scheduled to be the last to be rebuilt (in 2010), we still have time to consider a new location. If a new location cannot be identified (and there are similar concerns with regard to availability, affordability, and location), we have already confirmed that a new station can be built at the site of the current Station 1.
Government Bail Outs
While Congress contemplates various request for 'bail-outs' from the banking and automotive industries, significant requests from government entities have surfaced, including pleas from states, counties, cities, and school districts. (I have not heard of a township asking for money, but maybe I missed it).
Most of the requests are being made for 'infrastructure' or 'capital' projects that the jurisdictions 'need', projects that will 'put hundreds of people to work.' But I have to question why all of a sudden these projects need to be done now? In reality, these governments have been putting off these infrastructure projects for years in favor of funding special programs and pet projects because those get more media attention and good press for elected officials who want to be re-elected or move on to higher office. Spending such as this tends to feel more immediate impact on the community, while ignoring the much greater impact that failing infrastructure has on the viability and sustainability of a region.
I look back at the township and the status of some infrastructure projects when I took office in 2006. In 2004, the township paved 0.99 mile of roadway; in 2003 no roadway was repaved. Given that we need to repave 6.5 miles +/- in order to maintain a 20 year repaving schedule, these two years put us drastically behind. And why did this happen? Because the administration and elected officials chose to focus resources on feel-good stuff like brush pick-up and weekly leaf pick-up. They also raided the road department budget to operate the fire department.
But my point is that the township was not allocating proper resources to the road department so that they could maintain our infrastructure. Failure to maintain and repair our roads, storm drains, and other infrastructure is a costly decision, because the longer you put off infrastructure projects, the more costly they are to do. For the last three years, the trustees have unanimously agreed that we needed to refocus our attention on the township's infrastructure and structured the budget accordingly. Earlier this year, the trustees were criticized by some for not doing additional brush pickup throughout the summer storms. But our road department was involved in extensive road resurfacing projects and the cleanup of both Schlicker and Smith Ditches to prevent flooding. Despite the criticism, I believe we made the right choice to focus on infrastructure projects as opposed to aesthetic projects such as brush pickup.
Other governments have been doing (and continue to do) what the township used to do - putting resources in non-mandatory services that sound good, look good, and feel good, but in reality take needed resources away from maintaining the equipment and facilities that are needed to support keeping our roads, bridges, buildings, water, sewer and other systems in good condition. By asking for funds from the federal government, these governments are asking others to pay for their poor decisions and mixed-up priorities, while communities like Sylvania township are making those hard decisions on our own and paying for them out of our own pocket.
I am not in favor of the federal government bailing out state, local and regional government's failure to properly allocate enough resources and revenue to infrastructure projects. The voters of these communities elected their public officials; let those same voters figure out how and who should address their infrastructure needs. It is not the job of the federal government to bail these governments out, at the expense of all taxpayers.
Most of the requests are being made for 'infrastructure' or 'capital' projects that the jurisdictions 'need', projects that will 'put hundreds of people to work.' But I have to question why all of a sudden these projects need to be done now? In reality, these governments have been putting off these infrastructure projects for years in favor of funding special programs and pet projects because those get more media attention and good press for elected officials who want to be re-elected or move on to higher office. Spending such as this tends to feel more immediate impact on the community, while ignoring the much greater impact that failing infrastructure has on the viability and sustainability of a region.
I look back at the township and the status of some infrastructure projects when I took office in 2006. In 2004, the township paved 0.99 mile of roadway; in 2003 no roadway was repaved. Given that we need to repave 6.5 miles +/- in order to maintain a 20 year repaving schedule, these two years put us drastically behind. And why did this happen? Because the administration and elected officials chose to focus resources on feel-good stuff like brush pick-up and weekly leaf pick-up. They also raided the road department budget to operate the fire department.
But my point is that the township was not allocating proper resources to the road department so that they could maintain our infrastructure. Failure to maintain and repair our roads, storm drains, and other infrastructure is a costly decision, because the longer you put off infrastructure projects, the more costly they are to do. For the last three years, the trustees have unanimously agreed that we needed to refocus our attention on the township's infrastructure and structured the budget accordingly. Earlier this year, the trustees were criticized by some for not doing additional brush pickup throughout the summer storms. But our road department was involved in extensive road resurfacing projects and the cleanup of both Schlicker and Smith Ditches to prevent flooding. Despite the criticism, I believe we made the right choice to focus on infrastructure projects as opposed to aesthetic projects such as brush pickup.
Other governments have been doing (and continue to do) what the township used to do - putting resources in non-mandatory services that sound good, look good, and feel good, but in reality take needed resources away from maintaining the equipment and facilities that are needed to support keeping our roads, bridges, buildings, water, sewer and other systems in good condition. By asking for funds from the federal government, these governments are asking others to pay for their poor decisions and mixed-up priorities, while communities like Sylvania township are making those hard decisions on our own and paying for them out of our own pocket.
I am not in favor of the federal government bailing out state, local and regional government's failure to properly allocate enough resources and revenue to infrastructure projects. The voters of these communities elected their public officials; let those same voters figure out how and who should address their infrastructure needs. It is not the job of the federal government to bail these governments out, at the expense of all taxpayers.
Fire Union Negotiations
We are currently in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire union. We have quickly moved from negotiations to fact finding (a mediated process) because there did not seem to be any true intent by the union representatives to negotiate with the township. Typically we agree not to discuss the issues being negotiated during the process by signing an agreement setting out the ground rules. But IAFF Local 2243 declined to sign on to the ground rules this time. So I am free to talk about our negotiations.
Union negotiations are always a give-and-take process; we ask for stuff, they ask for stuff, both sides compromise and find something in the middle. As I said with the police negotiation, this is not a win-win situation; everyone thinks they lost something. Which probably mean we have a decent compromise.
But in the case of the fire department, I was truly astonished by the extent of their initial demands. I won't go into line-by-line detail, but will outline two items. First, from a straight financial standpoint, the requests are astronomical to the extent that the 1.25 mill levy that was passed earlier this year will not even begin to pay for the monetary demands. In fact, their demands would have the department in the red by over $8 million in the next three years, a situation that would require a 2.3 mill levy be passed next year just to keep them solvent for three years.
Even the seemingly non-financial issues their proposal calls for can lead to significant cost increases to the township. The union has requested that the firefighters be restricted to performing only 'traditional' firefighting or emergency medical care. When asked, the union declined to define the phrase 'traditional', but I think it would be easy to interpret this to mean they don't want to mow the lawns, shovel the sidewalks, or maintain and clean the living areas, etc. Now, some will say "but you don't make police officers do that stuff" which is true. But when we pay a police officer 8 hours to work, they are performing police duties for those 8 hours. When we pay a firefighter for a 24 hour shift, we are in essence paying them to be available, because (thankfully) they are not actually performing firefighting or EMS duties for the whole 24 hours. So while we are paying them to be available, they are eating, and sleeping, and working out. I don't think it is unreasonable that they do other stuff like sweeping floors, mowing lawn, and doing dishes while waiting for a call to come in. If they don't clean and maintain the fire stations, we'll be forced to hire someone to do this work for them.
Certainly, the township asked for numerous items as this process began a few weeks ago. Most important, we asked for contract restructuring that will allow us to implement the plans as put forth by the Fire Chief during the levy campaign. Without these changes, the fire levy will not last the 5 years projected.
So while we are taking steps to make sure the fire levy fulfills the pledges made to our community, the fire union is looking for more money ... to the tune of twice what the voters of Sylvania already agreed to this year. In fact, it is even more money than the operating levy which was turned down 4-to-1 back in 2005.
We'll keep working to negotiate a union contract that is financially sustainable and provides a department structure that allows us to implement the fire levy plans. It may take a while, but it's our obligation to the community who relied upon the chief's plan in voting for the fire levy.
Union negotiations are always a give-and-take process; we ask for stuff, they ask for stuff, both sides compromise and find something in the middle. As I said with the police negotiation, this is not a win-win situation; everyone thinks they lost something. Which probably mean we have a decent compromise.
But in the case of the fire department, I was truly astonished by the extent of their initial demands. I won't go into line-by-line detail, but will outline two items. First, from a straight financial standpoint, the requests are astronomical to the extent that the 1.25 mill levy that was passed earlier this year will not even begin to pay for the monetary demands. In fact, their demands would have the department in the red by over $8 million in the next three years, a situation that would require a 2.3 mill levy be passed next year just to keep them solvent for three years.
Even the seemingly non-financial issues their proposal calls for can lead to significant cost increases to the township. The union has requested that the firefighters be restricted to performing only 'traditional' firefighting or emergency medical care. When asked, the union declined to define the phrase 'traditional', but I think it would be easy to interpret this to mean they don't want to mow the lawns, shovel the sidewalks, or maintain and clean the living areas, etc. Now, some will say "but you don't make police officers do that stuff" which is true. But when we pay a police officer 8 hours to work, they are performing police duties for those 8 hours. When we pay a firefighter for a 24 hour shift, we are in essence paying them to be available, because (thankfully) they are not actually performing firefighting or EMS duties for the whole 24 hours. So while we are paying them to be available, they are eating, and sleeping, and working out. I don't think it is unreasonable that they do other stuff like sweeping floors, mowing lawn, and doing dishes while waiting for a call to come in. If they don't clean and maintain the fire stations, we'll be forced to hire someone to do this work for them.
Certainly, the township asked for numerous items as this process began a few weeks ago. Most important, we asked for contract restructuring that will allow us to implement the plans as put forth by the Fire Chief during the levy campaign. Without these changes, the fire levy will not last the 5 years projected.
So while we are taking steps to make sure the fire levy fulfills the pledges made to our community, the fire union is looking for more money ... to the tune of twice what the voters of Sylvania already agreed to this year. In fact, it is even more money than the operating levy which was turned down 4-to-1 back in 2005.
We'll keep working to negotiate a union contract that is financially sustainable and provides a department structure that allows us to implement the fire levy plans. It may take a while, but it's our obligation to the community who relied upon the chief's plan in voting for the fire levy.
Life Squad Billing
Last month, the Lucas County Commissioners voted to begin billing for the use of Life Squads, the advanced life support ambulances that are paid for through sales tax revenue. The Sylvania Township Fire Department mans a Life Squad, and we respond to Life Squad calls dispatched throughout Lucas County, though the majority of time it remains in the Sylvania area with occasional runs in outlying areas to the west, Springfield Township, Toledo and Ottawa Hills. I adamantly oppose soft-billing of Life Squad services for several reasons.
The decision to begin billing is based in part on a supposed need for increased revenue for the EMS system. The EMS system is supported by a sales tax that was passed specifically for this purpose a couple of decades ago. Officials say this is not enough to continue to support the system as it currently exists, and that soft-billing is just a band-aid. But this 'band-aid' has been 6 years in the making - yes they have slowly been working up to nailing the taxpayers with soft-billing for 6 years, and yet it is only a temporary fix. Instead of taking 6 years to provide a temporary fix, why didn't they seek a permanent solution?
Let's talk about what soft-billing is and how it negatively affects you. Soft-billing is the practice of billing insurance companies for use of the Life Squad by county residents. Any billed amount not paid by the insurance company is not pursued. For those who end up utilizing the Life Squad who do not live in Lucas County, the insurance company is also billed, but if they don't pay the entire bill, the user will be pursued for the remainder, up to and including collection action. For those who work or shop in Lucas County and directly or indirectly pay income, sales and real estate tax, that doesn't matter, they will still be hard billed for services. One excuse for doing soft-billing is that it 'doesn't cost' anyone anything. Wrong. It costs your insurance company, and your insurance company sets your rates based on how much is paid out on behalf of your group. So soft-billing will negatively affect insurance rates, though admittedly it may only be a minor amount (because the cost is spread out among so many insureds).
Sylvania Township receives approximately $660,000 from the county for manning Life Squad 6. Unfortunately, it costs closer to $1 million to operate it 24/7. We have happily subsidized this cost, as have the other four jurisdiction that operate Life Squads, because it provides a valued service to our community, not just Sylvania but the county as a whole. But in deciding to begin soft-billing, there is no agreement or firm intention to increase the amount of money the township will receive. So, while the County will be profiting off of the efforts of our firefighters, we continue to subsidize this service at great expense.
Another problem that I have with the soft-billing is the reasons they give for soft-billing, such as increased run volumes and more complex medical protocols which strain the system. Yet there is no data to support these claims. And the guestimate of $2-3 million in revenue from soft-billing is literally just that - a guestimate. There has been no study or review of run data done to arrive at that figure. They could be off by millions, they have no idea.
Finally, Lucas County EMS implements and directs new medical protocols be used in the treatment of patients without any follow-up study or review of medical data to determine if the new/added medical treatments being used are successful in preserving life. These new protocols take added personnel to implement and therefore are very expensive to the township to support and implement. If they are successful - GREAT! It is well worth the added cost. But we don't know if they are successful because there is no follow-up study being done. And again, we are being compensated at a rate that does not even cover manning the Life Squad with two Paramedics. These protocols can take three or more personnel to successfully implement.
For four years we have been reimbursed at the same rate for the Life Squad, approximately $660,000. Yet our costs are increasing (wages, benefits, insurance, fuel, etc.) every year. Add on top of that the increase demand on our personnel. Sylvania Township is being asked to provide more and more, while we are paid the same. Meanwhile, Lucas County will now begin to profit from the work of our employees (as well as the other jurisdictions' employees) with no guarantee on where that soft-billing revenue will go. There is some intent that a portion of it will go to purchase new Life Squad units, but that is not in writing. There has been some talk apparently that revenue will be shared with other jurisdictions that do not staff Life Squads, in order to supplement their fire and rescue services. But no guarantees, no promises, no commitments, just a decision to begin soft-billing.
I am opposed to the county implementing a plan to soft-bill for Life Squad services until a study has been completed which reviews all options for funding and providing emergency medical services and advanced life support transportation to those in both our community and throughout the township.
The decision to begin billing is based in part on a supposed need for increased revenue for the EMS system. The EMS system is supported by a sales tax that was passed specifically for this purpose a couple of decades ago. Officials say this is not enough to continue to support the system as it currently exists, and that soft-billing is just a band-aid. But this 'band-aid' has been 6 years in the making - yes they have slowly been working up to nailing the taxpayers with soft-billing for 6 years, and yet it is only a temporary fix. Instead of taking 6 years to provide a temporary fix, why didn't they seek a permanent solution?
Let's talk about what soft-billing is and how it negatively affects you. Soft-billing is the practice of billing insurance companies for use of the Life Squad by county residents. Any billed amount not paid by the insurance company is not pursued. For those who end up utilizing the Life Squad who do not live in Lucas County, the insurance company is also billed, but if they don't pay the entire bill, the user will be pursued for the remainder, up to and including collection action. For those who work or shop in Lucas County and directly or indirectly pay income, sales and real estate tax, that doesn't matter, they will still be hard billed for services. One excuse for doing soft-billing is that it 'doesn't cost' anyone anything. Wrong. It costs your insurance company, and your insurance company sets your rates based on how much is paid out on behalf of your group. So soft-billing will negatively affect insurance rates, though admittedly it may only be a minor amount (because the cost is spread out among so many insureds).
Sylvania Township receives approximately $660,000 from the county for manning Life Squad 6. Unfortunately, it costs closer to $1 million to operate it 24/7. We have happily subsidized this cost, as have the other four jurisdiction that operate Life Squads, because it provides a valued service to our community, not just Sylvania but the county as a whole. But in deciding to begin soft-billing, there is no agreement or firm intention to increase the amount of money the township will receive. So, while the County will be profiting off of the efforts of our firefighters, we continue to subsidize this service at great expense.
Another problem that I have with the soft-billing is the reasons they give for soft-billing, such as increased run volumes and more complex medical protocols which strain the system. Yet there is no data to support these claims. And the guestimate of $2-3 million in revenue from soft-billing is literally just that - a guestimate. There has been no study or review of run data done to arrive at that figure. They could be off by millions, they have no idea.
Finally, Lucas County EMS implements and directs new medical protocols be used in the treatment of patients without any follow-up study or review of medical data to determine if the new/added medical treatments being used are successful in preserving life. These new protocols take added personnel to implement and therefore are very expensive to the township to support and implement. If they are successful - GREAT! It is well worth the added cost. But we don't know if they are successful because there is no follow-up study being done. And again, we are being compensated at a rate that does not even cover manning the Life Squad with two Paramedics. These protocols can take three or more personnel to successfully implement.
For four years we have been reimbursed at the same rate for the Life Squad, approximately $660,000. Yet our costs are increasing (wages, benefits, insurance, fuel, etc.) every year. Add on top of that the increase demand on our personnel. Sylvania Township is being asked to provide more and more, while we are paid the same. Meanwhile, Lucas County will now begin to profit from the work of our employees (as well as the other jurisdictions' employees) with no guarantee on where that soft-billing revenue will go. There is some intent that a portion of it will go to purchase new Life Squad units, but that is not in writing. There has been some talk apparently that revenue will be shared with other jurisdictions that do not staff Life Squads, in order to supplement their fire and rescue services. But no guarantees, no promises, no commitments, just a decision to begin soft-billing.
I am opposed to the county implementing a plan to soft-bill for Life Squad services until a study has been completed which reviews all options for funding and providing emergency medical services and advanced life support transportation to those in both our community and throughout the township.
Wind River Update - Approval to Demolish
After years of trying to work with the owners of 7510 Wind River Drive, and failing to make any progress, the township finally has judicial authority to remove the structure that was destroyed in a fire over two years ago. Judge Jennings confirmed the resolution that we passed in July, authorizing our Zoning Manager to deal with the hazard which exists due to the burned-out structure and a failed attempt to renovate.
We are moving forward, obtaining bids for demolition. I am pushing to have this completed before Christmas, but sometimes the wheels of government don't move that fast (no matter how much I bug them.) To those interested, I will post here when we have a date scheduled for demolition. Neighbors are invited to come watch.
That wraps up a lengthy township update for 2008. Although we approved our 2009 budget at our last meeting, I will save detailed discussion of what is in the budget for a post early next year.
DeeDee Liedel
Sylvania Township Trustee
We are moving forward, obtaining bids for demolition. I am pushing to have this completed before Christmas, but sometimes the wheels of government don't move that fast (no matter how much I bug them.) To those interested, I will post here when we have a date scheduled for demolition. Neighbors are invited to come watch.
That wraps up a lengthy township update for 2008. Although we approved our 2009 budget at our last meeting, I will save detailed discussion of what is in the budget for a post early next year.
Sincerely,
DeeDee Liedel
Sylvania Township Trustee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
