At the regular Village of Macedon meeting on Wednesday night, Trustee Don Lohse made a motion to dissolve the Macedon Village Fire Department.
Following a speech from resident Bill Murray, addressing the fact that he and other residents have been trying to speak to and hear from Macedon Village Fire Chief Tim Wilcox for at least the last five meetings, he felt a public safety issue existed. Murray noted that the cost to the village taxpayers is substantial, and in light of the pending dissolution, it makes fiscal sense to disband the Macedon Village Fire Department.
He cited the fact that out of 6 emergency calls, the Macedon Fire Department was only able to respond to one. (South Macedon covered the other 5 calls.) In addition, the time that passes before South Macedon is toned out is substantial, and ultimately the Macedon Fire Department is creating a public safety issue.
Trustee Don Lohse agreed and brought to the floor a motion to disband the Macedon Fire Department,
Discussion ensued, before the vote could be taken.
A contract from the South Macedon Fire and Rescue was presented to the board, and SMFD offered to immediately cover the village for the next two weeks at no cost. The contract presented would take effect November 1st, 2015.
It was also noted that currently, if SMFD responds to a call within the village, the village is responsible for the liability insurance. Once contracted with SMFD, the village would no longer be responsible for this cost.
During discussion, members of the South Macedon Fire & Rescue, including their Fire Chief Joe Lusardi were present to speak to the board and answer any questions they may have.
Trustee Sliney stated: “I think the Village Fire Department has done an outstanding job, but the members have seemingly decided to disband themselves, with many of them already leaving the department in order to join the South Macedon Fire Department. “
He went on to say, “In order to protect our property and our lives, I feel this is something we need to do.”
“If the village approves this, the village would be a customer only. That was confirmed by Chief Lusardi. South Macedon is covered through its own insurance and Wayne County Workman’s Compensation.
Trustee Dave Kelly retorted that when SMFD covers a call it is considered mutual aid, however Chief Lusardi stated that mutual aid is “help” or assistance. He explained that SMFD has covered 5 of the 6 calls the Macedon Fire Department has received just this past week. “It not mutual aid when we have confirmed carbon monoxide on a call and 15 minutes into a call the SMFD was finally toned out, and covered the call, while a family was left in danger,” quipped Lusardi.
Mayor Marie Cramer remarked that she doesn’t understand why the discussion was not being tabled.
Trustee David Nelson stated that, in his opinion, “Safety is the first concern. Politics aside, this is about the safety of our people.”
Comments from residents included concern that the village would no longer has ample fire coverage. Another resident stated, “All I am asking for is common sense for once. The mayor has been questioned for months [about the status of the Macedon Fire Department] and has had no reply. He wondered if she does not care about the safety of the residents.”
Lastly a life member of the MFD, David Allen addressed the board with a most compelling argument. “Untie our hands and let us do our jobs. We are firefighters. The name of the department does not matter, serving our community does. If we disband I will happily join South Macedon and remain a firefighter. The bottom line is, we need people to answer fire calls, if you can’t do that then you must get out of it.”
The motion was approved 4-2 to disband, and will now require a Permissive Referendum to proceed. The board also voted to enter into a 5 year agreement with South Macedon Fire & Rescue, pending attorney approval. The vote was 4-2 with the Mayor and Trustee Kelly voting no. With that, the contract could become effective November 1st.
Mayor Cramer noted that she refused to sign, and halted all further discussion.
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