It has met those objectives, said Miamisburg City Manager Keith Johnson, while handling more service calls, building a new fire station and securing a union contract that runs through June 2016.
Meanwhile, the fire district has operated on a $9 million annual budget that has shown a surplus each year and is projecting a $2 million balance at the end of 2015. The current surplus includes the debt service of the new station, said Johnson, who works with the district’s board of trustees.
“It’s done everything we said that it would do – equal or better fire service at a more efficient, cost-effective manner,” he said of the district. “It’s probably been the best thing that the city and the township have ever done together.”
The district’s staff of an estimated 65 to 70 serves a population of 50,000 in a 35-square mile area with five stations, the newest of which opened on Wood Road in the township three years ago.
That location, officials said, has helped the district’s crews respond to increasing calls. Since 2013, the number of requests for service has jumped from just under 7,100 to 7,762 last year, said district Fire Chief Matt Queen.
The district’s job has been enhanced, officials agree, by the township and the city’s financial commitment. General fund contributions account for about $2.5 million of the district annual budget.
It is also bolstered by three levies — two from the township and a permanent one from the city — that finance about half of the operations while about $2 million is generated from fees, Queen said.
The district seems to be moving past its formative stage, a time when its board was focused on how the new department would operate under two jurisdictions, said Miami Twp. Board of Trustees President Doug Barry.
“Matt’s done a great job of bringing that district along and bringing the two entities together,” said Barry, who served on the fire district’s board. “Because there was a lot of logistics that needed to be worked out in the beginning.”
Now, officials are looking ahead as to how the district will continue to evolve in several areas, including operations and finances.
With four stations more than 40 years old, district officials will consider new facilities, where they would be located and how many may be needed. The district has talked with Moraine officials about possibly combining efforts because two stations near Ohio 741 overlap in some areas.
That will become a bigger priority as time progresses, Queen said.
“At some point and time we will focus a little more heavily on our facilities and potentially seeing what kind of savings we can do….” he said.
“I don’t see us doing a whole lot of increasing,” Queen said. “But there are some possibilities that we could reduce the number of facilities — which is going to save us money and infrastructure.”
Financially, Johnson said, the district needs to begin considering being self-sufficient.
“The township and the city will continue to support the fire district until such time that the district is self-supporting,” he said. “I think that the level they’re hitting … is the point that the district probably needs to look toward self-financing.”
That includes the possibility of combining levies, Johnson said. Queen agreed.
“I think everything’s on the table,” he said. “You have to look at it globally and with eyes wide open. What are we doing and how can we operate better and smarter? If there are redundancies or things that we don’t need to replace, don’t need to spend money on, then by all means those issues are definitely on the table.”
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