It was a small step for municipal governance but a giant step for common sense.
That was the Englewood City Council’s recent decision to shut down the city’s fire department and contract with the Denver Fire Department for protection.
The move will save an estimated $3.3 million a year. In a town the size of Englewood, those bucks can be used to fill a lot of potholes. Furthermore, it saves the city’s taxpayers an estimated $27 million needed for fire equipment and facility upgrades.
Awhile back, I opined that our metro area was better off with numerous smaller cities and towns rather than one, area-wide super government. But that doesn’t mean that said municipalities and other taxing entities shouldn’t always be on the lookout for ways to provide services more economically.
Englewood administrators spent two years studying alternatives to the city having its own fire department. It came down to hooking up with either Denver or the South Metro Fire District. Understandably, it was an emotional question for residents. After all, the EFD had been around since horse-drawn fire wagons. And who wants to mess with tradition or civic pride?
Under the plan approved by the Englewood City Council, only one firehouse there has been closed. But it is within a few blocks of an existing Denver station.
As of Monday, most of the 58 Englewood firefighters became part of the DFD.
Emergency medical cases within the city will be transported to Swedish Hospital in Englewood, not to Denver Health. The city will still have a fire marshal to deal with fire code and other safety issues. The change makes so much sense that it was supported by the Englewood firefighters union.
The Englewood plan is not unique. Sheridan contracted with Denver for service a half-dozen years ago. And, to a large degree, fire protection is provided to three quadrants of the suburbs through the South Metro, West Metro and North Metro departments.
But many small departments remain. Fire departments are cost-intensive operations, both in terms of equipment and manpower. Public employees are actually paid to sleep while they are on duty, just in case they are needed in an emergency.
Years ago, someone figured out that a lot of money could be saved by totally eliminating fire departments. If a structure was left to burn down, the local government could reimburse the property owner their loss and still come out ahead. (That probably wouldn’t be very comforting to someone trapped in burning house, but you get the idea.)
Fire departments may have stayed in business because they expanded operations to include emergency medical and rescue services.
The search for cost savings should not be limited to fire departments. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs says there are 1,528 special districts in the metro area that provide water or sewer service or other services. Even the smallest have offices, and likely employ engineers, attorneys and bookkeepers.
Many could likely be consolidated or become part of a municipality. But, unlike Englewood, common sense does not always prevail.
Dick Hilker of Arvada (dhilker529@aol.com) is a retired Denver suburban newspaper editor and columnist.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
