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With more than 75 people in attendance - many wearing shirts that read "Save The Hillsboro Fire Department" - the Hillsboro City Council denied an administration-proposed emergency resolution to hire a legal counsel to be used in negotiations with the Hillsboro firefighters' union. 

During the Hillsboro City Council's regular meeting Monday evening, Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings said that instead of "Save The Hillsboro Fire Department," the residents should be saying, "Save Our City" because of the fiscal situation the city is in.

Hillsboro Auditor Gary Lewis reported that the financial outlook of the city was "not good" as it enters its "fifth consecutive year" of deficit spending. Lewis said that because of the city's fiscal issues, the responsible course of action for council is to approve the mayor's proposal to contract with the Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District. 

Hastings said that he felt compelled to issue an apology because of the "uncivilized" and "unprofessional" behavior exhibited by "my employees at the fire department" through the negotiation process. 

Several Hillsboro firefighter supporters arrived to the meeting at the Highland County Justice Center on a vintage, privately owned yellow fire truck. Hillsboro firefighter Marc Bayless said the owner is a "brother in firefighting" who wanted to show support.

Approximately a dozen Hillsboro and Highland County residents addressed council on the fire/EMS contracting issue. While some spoke out in support of Hastings' proposal to contract with the Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District, the majority said they wanted Hillsboro Fire and Rescue to remain intact and asked council to deny the mayor's request. 

Hillsboro City Council President Lee Koogler called it a "standing-room-only" crowd during the meeting, comprised of current and former Hillsboro firefighters, area township trustees and firefighters from other departments.

Koogler said that anyone who wanted to speak on the matter would have an opportunity to address council, and more than 20 minutes was spent during the public comments portion of the meeting.  

Hastings said a fire district is really "just one large fire department" which has a larger service area and utilizes shared services to keep costs down. 

"It's the prudent, fiscally responsible way to go. Any other choice is irresponsible in serving the overall needs of our citizens," Hastings said. "This debate has been taken down to a very marginal level. In the hue and cry put out by our fire department as 'Save Our Fire Department,' and it's been reiterated up here by citizens' comments. The question is not 'Save Our Fire Department,' it's 'Save Our City.' If we do not have a city worth having, the fire department, if anything else, is meaningless. I think taking it down to 'Save Our Fire Department' makes it all about one department and negates the importance of any other safety/service department in this city. When I hear 'Save Our Department,' what I'm really hearing is 'Save Us.' Save 12 firefighters, as if somehow they're going to go into extinction. And I don't think that's the case; in fact, I know that's not the case."

Hastings said that the residents who spoke out of concern for the fire department, "there was never any concern for the financial considerations of all this, which is really what drives this whole thing. When you say 'Save Our Fire Department,' we are not destroying the ability to provide fire and EMS. We're morphing, I guess in a way. We're changing with the times. We are doing nothing any different than many, many, many thousands of communities all across America are currently doing. This is the trend, and there's a reason why this is a trend. Our fire department kind of insinuates they have the sole franchise on public safety, and I think that's a little bit disrespectful to all of our departments. I would remind them, and all present here, that we have a lot of people on our city staff that are concerned for public safety."

The mayor had previously said that the proposed agreement would save the city an estimated $1,540,000 "compared to continuing operation of the fire department with an estimated $899,648 deficit and a capital costs/benefits/administration (CBA) deficit of $450,000," for a total deficit of $1,348,648.

Hastings said that no one disputes the good job the firefighters did in handling the large service area they had previously covered.

"But I am bothered that they feel nobody else is capable of doing such a job. I feel, to a degree, that I almost have to apologize on behalf of our city fire department," Hastings said. 

The crowd in attendance audibly disagreed with Hastings' statement, and Koogler said that everyone had been given a chance to speak, and now that it was the mayor's turn, he asked that everyone be respectful.

Hastings continued, saying, "I feel I owe an apology on behalf of my employees at the fire department because of uncivil behavior they have exhibited over the course of these negotiations, I felt were very unprofessional. There's a litany of them. Some of them that really bothered me was some of the unprofessional talk over our 911 system. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary polarization at our Festival of the Bells, an event that should be very non-political. And I think there were worse cases of unprofessionalism. And I'm sorry it got down to that. 

"This is a matter of an evolution in services," Hastings said. "I don't see it as being - I know that you do and I respect that - I don't see this as being putting something into extinction, I see this as a necessary morphing or something we need to do to be fiscally responsible."  

Following the meeting, Hillsboro Firefighter Ryan Passet said that he felt council's actions, and inactions, made a statement Monday night. 

"We will continue to be the professionals that we have been for over 150 years." Passet said. "It says it right in our name: Hillsboro professional firefighters."

Council did not give any response to the residents who spoke, or to the mayor. They heard the first reading of a resolution proposed by Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Rick Giroux "to authorize and enter into an agreement for fire protection and emergency medical services by and between the city of Hillsboro, Ohio and the Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District." 

Koogler said that while council intends to give the matter three readings, he does not want the issue to drag on for months, and special council meetings on the issue could be scheduled. 

A resolution introduced by Giroux requesting $32,600 in transfers within the general fund died for lack of a motion from council. The resolution contained six items, which included a total of $10,500 (a $5,500 outstanding bill and $5,000 in anticipated costs) going to the law firm Blaugrund, Herbert, Kessler, Miller, Myers and Postalakis, and $900 going to Dublin Management for a "labor study" on Hillsboro Fire and Rescue." 

Council also unanimously voted to deny an emergency resolution proposed by Giroux authorizing the city to employ the law firm Blaugrund, Herbert, Kessler, Miller, Myers and Postalakis "to represent the city in labor negotiations with the Hillsboro Professional Firefighters Local 2972."

Council member Dave Shoemaker asked Giroux why the city could not use local attorneys or attorneys already employed by the city. Giroux said that this firm specializes in labor negotiations, and even though he himself has successfully negotiated many long-term safety contracts, the current issues are an "obstacle course," and this firm will help guide the city through.

"Because of the complexities of this particular issue, it's a prudent measure in order to make sure all the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted," Giroux said. 

Council member Pete Pence said that this firm has been performing services for the city since February, and he wanted to know why is it important now for council to pass the resolution.  

Giroux said, "I can't answer that question," and looked to Hastings. 

Hastings said, "I have not read up on this resolution in particular. I would assume it is for any anticipated negotiations. What comes to mind is some of the concession talk that is out there or to allow for the transition of our fire union, as regards to the other entity, possibly. But it would have to do with either the concessions talk. Really, anything forward that legal counsel would be required for between now, and the disposition of this issue." 

Council member Rod Daniels said that he felt that seemed like an "open-ended" situation that could put the city in a position to be working with this firm with no set end date and no set payment limit. 

Giroux said that because council had denied the appropriation that included $10,500 going to the law firm, it "put a cap" on the payment issue. 

Giroux later told The Highland County Press that if the city does not approve the mayor's plan for EMS and fire services, they could be looking at "draconian cuts, fiscally, that will have to be made. Is that really necessary when we have a viable solution, which solves the problem and saves money at the same time?"