By Kimberly Drelich
The Day
GROTON, Conn. — Results of a City of Groton survey found that 62.8% of respondents support increasing the city’s minimum fire department staffing from four to five firefighters per shift by hiring three more firefighters.
Of the 401 respondents, 28.4% said they do not support increasing the staffing, while 8.7% are unsure.
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The city posted on its website the results of the survey that ran from Feb. 26 until March 9 . The survey comes as city officials look to raise staffing levels for the City of Groton Fire Department but are considering which path to take to get there.
The firefighters’ union is calling for more staffing. The union said a fire at Groton Towers in October, in which 78-year-old Linda Bennett tragically died, highlights the importance of adequate staffing.” The union said “two personnel were on scene by themselves for five minutes until the arrival of the second unit from the City of Groton and our closest mutual aid partners.”
The survey said the city is committed “to enhancing public safety by hiring additional firefighters and working to increase minimum fire department staffing to five firefighters per shift.” The city said it was conducting the survey to seek input from taxpayers before “determining how to phase in this staffing increase.” The city said the feedback “is helping to inform budget planning and the path forward.”
The city said each firefighter position, including salary, benefits and overtime, would add $200,000 to the city’s budget, which amounts to a tax impact of $14 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
For those supportive of increasing staffing, 5% recommended adding one firefighter at a time over multiple budgets, 42.6% called for hiring multiple firefighters “within a shorter timeframe,” and 41.6% thought the city should seek grant or other funding to help cover the costs.
The city said other responses included: “Volunteer firefighters,” “Rely on mutual aid,” “No new taxes,” and “Merge with other fire departments in the area.”
When asked what annual tax increase they would accept to support the proposal, 39.9% said “$50+ annually,” 38.2% said they don’t support a tax increase, 16.5% said they supported $25-$50 annually, and the rest supported up to $25 annually.
During Monday’s City Council meeting, Bryon Niemann, who was one of two residents who spoke in support of increasing staffing, said the planned redevelopment of the former Groton Heights School property will bring to the area more traffic and people, increasing the need for public services and support. With the Gold Star Memorial Bridge construction project, he expects multiple emergency service calls over the next three to four years on the bridge from both New London and Groton.
“I think this problem has been dragged on for far too long. It has been kicked down the road,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve reached the point where we’re running out of road, so for me it comes down to: Do we support the future of the city, or don’t we?”
City Mayor Jill Rusk responded after the comments that: “I will say we are all hearing you, and I will say, for me, I feel like public safety is very important. I have said from the beginning, I will advocate for increasing staffing in the fire department and increasing the minimum.”
She said she thinks “on top of our fire department, we do need to look at our police department, because there are some inequities there, as well, so we will get to that with our budget this year.”
Rusk added later that she shared the results of the survey with the City Council, fire chief, and firefighters’ union president.
Robert Tompkins, the city’s fire chief, said Wednesday he saw the results, which confirms the need for more firefighters.
“We obviously do need the staffing here in the city, and the mayor and council have made it clear they are committed to that and they are moving forward with that next year, said Tompkins.
Groton Firefighters Union Local 1964 President Kevin Price said Wednesday that he thinks the results “speak for themselves that the public is certainly in favor of increasing our minimum staffing.”
He said discussions are continuing with the mayor. With budget season approaching, the union is hoping there is something in the budget for a staffing increase because the city councilors have acknowledged the need, along with the mayor who wanted to gauge the public support. He thinks it’s pretty evident from the results of the survey that there is public support for increasing staffing.
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