MASSENA — Two career firefighters are set to retire next year, raising concerns among village trustees that overtime costs within the department could skyrocket.
To address potential additional costs, Trustee Ken McGowan and Deputy Village Manager Chad Simpson suggested the village consider hiring before any retirements occur.
Mr. McGowan and Mr. Simpson are both the village board’s liaison with the fire department.
At the September board meeting, McGowan suggested directors start thinking about pending retirements “incrementally” rather than reactively.
“It’s been inspected, we’ve got the permits, and we have a staff of nine people doing that,” McGowan said.
Simpson said the pending retirement is a “major setback” that could cost the village a lot of money.
Hardy said the department is busier than ever, but there are only so many law enforcement officers on the road.
“There’s only one person that can do the code side, and that’s it. That’s all I have the resources for,” Hardy said.
Hardy said the department also responds to fire and rescue calls and is spreading its already limited resources thinly.
With nine firefighters on call and an increasing number of calls, Hardy said the job is becoming increasingly difficult.
Currently, the Enforcement Directorate is processing 700 complaints, he said.
In addition, Hardy said the fire department just reached a total of 1,600 emergency responses.
It’s simply not sustainable in the current climate, he says.
One suggestion to limit the impact is onboarding and training new hires before turnover occurs, and was a topic of discussion at a recent meeting, Hardy said.
“I’d rather spend a few bucks early than spend all summer working overtime. We’re really progressive and need to spend a little money sooner rather than a lot later.” “Because by this time next year, we could be down two firefighters,” McGowan said.
Hardy said he does not know what overtime pay will be next year, but added that costs could rise significantly if a replacement is not found.
Training was also a concern, as firefighters require significant training before they can go on duty.
“We’re not going to have services right away, so the decisions that need to be made and how we do them are important. We can’t wait until the last moment,” Simpson said.
McGowan also said the village’s budget for next year “will be a very difficult balancing act” as costs continue to rise.
McGowan said the village tries to keep taxes as low as possible, but if village residents want to keep all services as they are, they may have to pay higher taxes.
In particular, McGowan pointed to the Department of Public Works, cleanup days and trash collection services as rising costs that could have a big impact on next year’s budget.
Interest rates set by the North Country Development Authority are scheduled to rise next year, which would force the county to raise rates as well. That cost will ultimately be paid by taxpayers, who will be forced to pay for it, McGowan said.
“I know you mentioned the fire department, but you have to mention everyone. You said Aaron and his staff are busy. PD is busy. DPW, they have reduced staff and they used to We’re also having them do the work that used to be done by 10 or 15 people. We have the administration and the staff, but they’re too busy and all the secretaries are too busy,” he said.
McGowan said that without cost cuts or tax increases, residents may choose the services they want.
“I think everyone hears, ‘Taxes are too high, taxes are too high.’ This costs money. It costs money to provide services. So if taxes are too high, Complaining is not the solution. These are the services we provide. It is what it is and they will not go down,” McGowan said.
McGowan noted that the village is trying to maintain low taxes by leveraging $150,000 in the Cooperative Recreation Authority’s fund balance to stay below the tax cap.
Now, trustees say they will never again be able to keep the village below the tax cap.
What we want residents to know is that if we want our services to stay the same, we need to start thinking about whether we need these services. I just wanted to get it out there,” McGowan said.
