By Jennifer Palmer
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)
BELLEVUE, Neb. — Bellevue officials to discuss move toward paid fire department Pressure is coming from the Legislature, which again is expected to take up the issue.
Bellevue city officials and the Legislature are dancing around the question of who might take the next step regarding the city’s volunteer fire department.
At Monday night’s meeting, City Council members plan to discuss hiring a paid fire chief or paid part-time paramedics, as well as other options. City Administrator Gary Troutman has asked the council to weigh in on the issues, but no action is expected during the meeting.
The city has been feeling pressure from the Legislature to begin moving toward a paid fire department. Bellevue is the largest Nebraska city with a volunteer department.
Last year, a bill that would have required Bellevue to have a fully paid fire department was postponed, but at least one state senator says similar legislation is coming soon.
Bellevue has expressed the desire to control its own fate. One reason that the city opposed the last bill, Legislative Bill 607, was that city officials believe that fire departments should be controlled locally. The city also was concerned with the cost of hiring a paid department.
State Sen. Mike Friend of Omaha said this week that he was drafting a bill that would allow affected cities time to implement paid departments in steps. “Last year’s was a ‘Wham! You’re going to be hit,’” he said. “Here we’re saying there are going to be incremental changes.”
For example, he said, the bill could require cities to hire a paid chief and management in the first year, then meet other benchmarks over a period of time.
Friend said the bill is likely to be drafted next week.
In asking the city to discuss the matter, Troutman said the city should be concerned about the inability of volunteers to leave their jobs to respond to fires.
“It used to be that employees were encouraged to become involved in civic activities, but in today’s economic situation it is just about impossible for employers to permit employees to leave work for an undetermined amount of time,” he stated in a letter to city officials.
Friend said many people believe Bellevue is too big to continue depending on a volunteer fire department.
Last year’s bill, introduced by State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, targeted first-class cities with more than 38,000 residents. Only Bellevue and Grand Island meet those criteria, and the latter has had a paid department for nearly 100 years.
Friend said the new bill might affect cities other than Bellevue, including Kearney.
“We’re trying not to make a ‘Bellevue’ bill. We’re trying to develop a bill that will affect more communities in a positive manner,” Friend said. It would, however, be limited to first-class cities, he said.
He said he was following with interest Bellevue’s discussions but would move forward with legislation despite any action the city might take.
In a memorandum, Troutman asked Mayor Ed Babbitt and the City Council to come to a consensus on several questions involving the fire department so the city could take action and be prepared for what happens in the Legislature. Although the letter doesn’t specifically address Friend’s bill, Troutman said he was aware of plans for the Legislature to pursue a bill.
The specifics Troutman identified are changing city ordinances to reflect a paid and volunteer fire department, hiring a paid chief and paid part-time rescue personnel, placing the volunteer firefighters and paramedics under authority of the city’s personnel policy and establishing and collecting emergency and fire response fees.
Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue, who opposed last year’s bill, said she would follow the direction of the city.
Copyright 2008 The Omaha World-Herald Company