Spanish Fort approves fire department funding

City plans to make volunteer fire department municipal agency in April

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SPANISH FORT – Plans are moving forward to make the Spanish Fort Fire Rescue Department a city agency in April, city officials said.

The Spanish Fort City Council will vote Monday, Nov. 15 to award funds to the department. The city approved $1.6 million in fire protection in the budget approved for the 2021-22 fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Under the terms of the council resolution, the money would be paid in four installments during the year, David Conner, city attorney, said.

Mayor Mike McMillan said the city and fire officials are working on plans to make the department a city agency. The department is a volunteer group with some paid employees that operates under a contract with the city to provide fire protection.

McMillan said the department has done a good job protecting the community and officials hope the change will help improve services. He said the city’s fire insurance rating, set by the Insurance Services Office, shows the quality of service provided by the department.

Spanish Fort has an ISO rating of 3. Under the system 1 is the best rating and 10 the worst.

“We certainly appreciate our friends and partners at the fire department who do a truly outstanding job for our city,” McMillan said. “Our ISO ratings are outstanding which keeps your insurance costs low. In the past, it was all volunteer. It’s transitioning to a paid department, which assures you of 24-7 coverage at all times.”

Fire Chief Roger Few said plans are progressing to complete the merger. He said officials are working on personnel issues needed to classify current paid department employees as municipal workers.

“We just have to iron everything out, but it’s going fine,” Few said.

The resolution introduced at the council meeting on Monday, Nov. 1, called for the city to provide $1 million in the upcoming year, the amount set in the 2020-21 budget. Conner said the wording will be corrected for the final resolution to be approved Nov. 15.

“The amount of funding overall this year, I believe is $1.6 million by the budget,” Conner said. “This agreement sets forth $1 million for fiscal year 2021-22 and it’s our understanding based on the work session that there will be further discussion about this prior to it being worked on at the next meeting to make sure, as we talk about transition between the city-run department and the fire department regarding that funding.”

The department was established in 1962. It has 12 full-time paid firefighters and three other paid staff members as well as volunteers. The department also has six part-time firefighters on the payroll, Few said in an earlier meeting.

The city and Spanish Fort Fire-Rescue Department are also working on plans to build a new fire station near City Hall.