It’s that time of year again: budget season. And if you’re part of a group of fire departments, you must take a stand against what I call IGM, or I Got Mine, budgeting.

But let’s first consider this average budgeting scenario: Say a group of 10 fire departments is loosely organized into a countywide organization with a $1 million tax-based budget. The departments’ call volumes range from 200 to 1,000 per year. How would you select each department’s share of the $1 million? Of course, you base it on the available money, each department’s budget for the previous year, their call volume and their future needs. It’s a lot of work, but it works out.

IGM budgeting is a lot simpler, but it ends up stiffing departments and the taxpayer. With this form of budgeting, you divide the budget by the number of departments. Simple. In the scenario above, each department would get $100,000. No discussion, no justification, no effort. Whatever Department A gets (money, equipment, etc.), departments B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J get, whether they need it or not. Otherwise it’s not fair, right? It’s not fair that Department B gets more fuel money than department C, even if B runs 1,000 calls a year and C runs 200. It’s not fair that D has a two sets of extrication tools and E has only one even though D is a community with two major highways running through it, and E is only a high-dollar residential development. Think again. Money should be divided based on who needs what. The bottom line: If you engage in IGM budgeting, you’re doing a disservice to your taxpayers.