How will the funds be used?
Fire Protection and EMS
Bridgeport currently has three full-time fire department employees and 16 people are paid on-call meaning they are paid for responses and attending training. These people must provide fire protection and emergency medical services to the entire Township.
Full-time fire and EMS personnel work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for holidays. These personnel also respond after hours based on their availability. On-call personnel carry pagers, which notify them when there is an emergency. They respond to emergency calls based on their availability; this varies greatly and depends on many factors. On-call personnel do not work any type of set schedule; they are in essence paid volunteers.
Staffing during weekday, daytime hours, and the early morning hours of the weekend are the times that we are most short of personnel. Our original intent was to hire up to 7 full-time personnel. Coupled with our current full-time personnel we felt we would be able to cover these times. Due to additional revenue sharing cuts, greater than projected property value decreases, and feedback from many community members, we are proposing a different approach to our issues. Click here to learn more.
Police Protection
Our police department is currently staffed by a full-time Chief, a clerk, eight full-time officers and two part-time officers. Using part-time officers is a new concept for our department, but one we felt worthwhile based on feedback from our citizens. These personnel work 12-hour shifts to maintain 24-hour, 7-day week coverage for our community.
It is challenging to meet the service demands placed upon the police department. Aside from routine patrol, our officers answer a variety of 911 calls. These calls vary in priority. And although not all 911 calls for service are serious or life-threatening, our goal is to meet the needs of all people who call 911 requesting police assistance. Officers also must serve subpoenas’ (within and outside the borders of Bridgeport), they must transport prisoners from other communities, and officers must make regular court appearances based on their current caseload, all of which most times takes them out of service for other calls.
No Loss in Other Services
Many communities have offset rising costs for public safety by reducing services in other general fund supported areas, such as parks and recreation, roads, zoning and planning, and code enforcement. This assessment will allow Bridgeport to continue existing levels of service in other areas while maintaining public safety. Funds will not be used to hire full-time fire or police personnel. Funds will be used to: maintain infrastructure, current staffing levels, encourage volunteerism, and if needed, fund only part-time positions.
What’s Been Done to Cut Costs
Since 2008, the Township has made significant cuts in other areas to streamline services, including:
- Reduced fulltime staffing by four employees
- In the first quarter of 2009 it implemented a reduced work week for all employees, except public safety. After an evaluation of the impact on services and the best interest of the community, all employees were reinstated to 40-hour work weeks.
- It has implemented an energy conservation strategy.
- Employee overtime has been reduced.
- All department purchases must be justified and are scrutinized by the Township Manager.
- Wages for summer help have been reduced.
- It has changed health care coverage providers.
- It has reduced dependency on contractor services
- It has modified office hours