Millburn and Summit To Study Combining Fire Departments

Millburn and Summit fire officials are planning to embark on a formal study about sharing more services, including potentially combining the two departments.

The study would examine the organizational structure, response procedures, fire prevention services, budgets, policies, training programs and apparatus of the two departments.

The two fire chiefs and the two business administrators met with the officers from both departments on Wednesday to discuss the idea.

The study has yet to go out to bid, but Township Administrator Tim Gordon said he expects that to happen by August. It would take about six months to complete.

Fire Chief Michael Roberts said the two chiefs have been working on the idea for several months and are bringing it forward on their own initiative. There was no directive from the business administrators or the governing bodies, he said.

"We wanted to be proactive with the current economic climate," he said. "We owe it to the community."

Department officials are always looking at ways to run more efficiently and save money, he said.

Gordon said there is no agenda behind the study.

"If we can consolidate, fine," he said. "If not, there may be areas we could save some money or resources."

Additionally, the study could find ways to enhance fire services in both towns, he said. The fire inspectors, for example, could assist each other, which would be a service to residents to have inspections completed more effectively.

The two departments already work closely, sharing a dispatch center that is located in Summit. Additionally, the two departments have an automatic aid agreement on certain types of calls for service, including building fires.

Firefighters from both departments also train together, and the officers from both departments meet formally once a year.

"We've been sharing services since before it was in fashion," Roberts said.

Gordon said it's ideal to do the study with Summit because there is "such a deep relationship." He called the relationship between the two departments "unique," and said some departments are jealous of it.

Despite the potential benefits, Roberts pointed out there would be a host of challenges in combining the two departments. For one thing they are located in two different counties; for another, Millburn is a civil service town while Summit is not. There are also rank issues and two different union contracts to contend with, he said.

But in another sense, Gordon suggested, consolidation wouldn't change much, given how much the two departments already assist each other. Additionally, there would always need to be firehouses within a certain distance of each other.

"As long as you have firehouses, you'll have firefighters and equipment," he said.

In addition to the fire department study, Millburn officials are also considering a feasibility study of a combined police dispatch with Livingston, according to Gordon. It's a project that has been mentioned several times during the budget process.

Livingston officials are constructing a new facility with new equipment, he said. They anticipate to move into the building in 2010. Millburn police need to update their equipment, he said.

"It's worth looking at it to see if it's feasible," he said.

The dispatch study, which would take less time than one for the fire department, would be ready to ask for bids by September, he said.

Officials would seek a state grant from the Department of Community Affairs to study shared services. It depends how many communities are seeking the grant on if it is readily available to pay for the studies, Gordon said.

If officials do not receive the grant money, they would need to examine the costs to determine if they still push forward with the studies.