Highwood Seeks to Outsource Fire Department

The city of Highwood is investigating the possibility of supplementing their fire department with personnel from a private firefighting firm, but City Manager Scott Coren says the community can be assured safety and protection will not be compromised.

The most important reason behind the city’s decision to ask private firms for proposals is the cost, since the city has a small tax base less than a square mile in size to draw from.

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“Highwood must continue to keep down the cost of our current services in order to have enough money to improve upon city infrastructure such as streets and sidewalk repairs,” he said.

The contracting of fire department personnel will join other city services such as snow plowing, maintaining the grass on many streets and public parks, building reviews and inspections, payroll, financial planning, fueling services and dispatching, among others.

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“Outsourcing city-wide needs has proven highly effective in the past,” Coren said. “We now look at the potential to deliver our fire services safely and efficiently through contractors. We will control the requirements for hiring and ensure all contractual employees have the proper certifications.”

With the money saved on outsourcing, Highwood can begin to address immediate infrastructure needs such as the fixing of city roads and sidewalks, Coren said.

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“We’ve already had to increase taxes to address these issues in the past. Not making changes like the one we are faced with now will only result in additional tax increases. We must be efficient with our limited tax dollars.”

Highwood’s current Fire Department is staffed by a mix of full- and part-time firefighters.