Financial Priorities

By Peter F. Carpenter

How can we make sure that the District remains financially solvent.

If current trends and practices continue, the District will be faced with rapidly increasing costs for its retirement program. While I am fully committed to honoring our existing retirement obligations, we cannot afford to continue the existing retirement program for future new hires unless we can find some way to perform our mission with fewer firefighters (which I think would be extremely difficult). In addition, I think the Board owes it to the taxpayers to hold a much harder line on allowing tax- free disability retirement only when the cause of that disability is clearly proven to be work related. It also makes little sense to allow a disability retirement claim based on an injury which occurred years prior to retirement but which obviously did not impair that person's ability to continue to work until they had earned full retirement benefits. I recognize that these particular positions will not endear me to the Union, but I feel that they are necessary to protect the financial integrity of the Fire District and the interests of the taxpayers.

Any excess revenues over existing expenses should be prioritized to the following uses:

a. Improved planning and preparation for community wide disasters.

b. Modernizing our physical facilities.

c. Improving our Urban Search and Rescue capabilities beyond that which is supported by FEMA. The recent deployment of our Task Force to the World Trade Center disaster demonstrated both the capabilities of our Task Force as well as the limitations that are imposed on the Task Force because it relies solely on FEMA funding. This Task Force is the best in the country and we should be sure that it has the support and resources necessary to perform at its fullest potential.

d. Implementing innovative response techniques (equipment pre-positioning, citizen disaster training etc.) which will reduce the adverse impact of increased congestion.