Firefighter asks: What's the rush for Hillsboro to join Paint district?

To the editor:

Dear Citizens of the Paint Creek EMS/Fire District and the City of Hillsboro.

First, to the citizens of the Greenfield community, thank you. The last 13 years have been an honor to serve you. My family and I appreciate the life you have provided for us.

Now, I would I like to take the time to shed some light on a disturbing situation.

The proposed (fire/EMS) contract with the city of Hillsboro is a bad idea. For the life of me, I cannot understand why our district is even considering this idea.

Since the creation of this district I have listened to the board members repeatedly say they will not contract out services. If other areas want our services, they need to join the district.

This is a stance I am very proud they took. As it is only fair that all citizens pay and give up monies and ownership of all fire and EMS equipment. This is the very basis of a district.

I'm not sure what's changed. Especially from the Paint Township trustee, when Paint Township was repeatedly told they could not contract for services.

The city of Hillsboro has no intentions of joining this district in three years. Why would they?

They will retain ownership of their building and all equipment and the district is going to spend thousands of dollars maintaining and bringing this equipment back up to par for them (I would know, I worked there).

Then, this district is going to spend thousands of dollars on new employees to work there, i.e. employee physicals, gear, training and uniforms to name a few.  

This move is one of genius by Hillsboro's mayor. Paint Creek gets to spend all this money and in three years when Hillsboro does not join the district, they have equipment in better shape than it is now and a fresh pool of employees willing to accept a job with them because they will be laid off by Paint Creek.

Furthermore, this district is in no situation to take over an undertaking such as this at this time. In the future? Maybe, and possibly for the better. Maybe.

But this district has not ironed out the wrinkles from taking over Paint Township. (Which is an undertaking of its own, but nothing compared to this.)

I'd say easily 15 out my last 20 shifts here I have had to call people and fill empty shifts that had not been covered. (No blame, by the way.) These are just part of the expected wrinkles that need to be worked out – let alone the wrinkles involved in which apparatus and personnel go to what areas and runs.

As far as staffing, nowhere in this county is there a better fire department than in Hillsboro.

They have four full-time 240/Medics on duty with dozens upon dozens of years of experience. This isn't even closely matched by anyone in this county. In no way is that putting down any other department, rather it is simply a fact.

At Paint Creek, there is an average of 3.6 years of experience or a total of 28 years of experience (excluding chiefs). As you can see, one firefighter/EMT at Hillsboro has almost as many years of service as this entire department.

Let's not even take into play that over those years the ratio of actual runs was probably 2 to 1 over there. Will this district achieve this level? Maybe. But it is doubtful as 5 out of 9 full-time employees have left in the last year and a half (and one more is expected to leave shortly).

But even if this path changes, it will take years to acquire the same level of training and experience. I, myself, went to Hillsboro to gain experience from these men when I became a medic.

Any wage savings that are being proposed are also false. The addition of Hillsboro or any township is an unfair labor practice as it is a change of work conditions. You can bet that Paint Creek's union will be fighting for Hillsboro's wages as this is the obvious going rate for firefighting in that area. In fact it's highly likely that they would ask for more because they would cover a substantially larger area than Hillsboro does now and have a higher work load.

So, taxpayers of Paint Creek, I encourage you to attend Tuesday's board meeting or call them or your respective council members or trustees. I know as a taxpayer this is not what I want (and I am a taxpayer; I own property in this district). Nor is this what I went door to door campaigning for. (Not to mention the ramifications of shoving an imposed income tax on more residents.)

This district will, with absolute certainty, need replacement levies in the future to continue operations. How likely are voters going to be to vote for additional taxes that they didn't have a say-so in establishing in the first place!

Now, consider the increased possibility of a referendum being put on the ballot by one of these imposed entities and there's a whole new nightmare of possibilities.

To the board members of Paint Creek and the trustees and council members of the areas considering joining this district, I ask: What's the rush?

This is June. You have until August to put this on the ballot and hear from your residents.

This will give you the peace of mind of knowing where your constituents stand and allow this district to iron out the wrinkles of taking on the city of Hillsboro.

Now, for my brothers at HFD.

Brothers, as you can see here today, I have easily given up a 5-10k a year part-time job – not to mention I probably have zero possibility of returning if my new job doesn't work out.

Unfortunately, with the loss of Hamer and Paint townships, you're on an unsustainable path. So, fellas, sit down with your mayor, swallow some pride and see if there's any way you can do the same. You're about to be eliminated.

To my new family at Chillicothe Fire, I say thank you for excepting me and I hope you can restore my faith in this service, as it is one I dearly love.

Typically, I am not in favor of burning bridges – and I am sure I have blown this one up!

That was not my intention in any way. But I'd rather wash dishes or bag groceries with a clear conscience than not speak up. I have family and friends that live in this district and family and friends that live in the Hillsboro area as well that I am worried for.

And, no, I am not a disgruntled former employee. I am leaving on good terms. I was never disciplined or turned down for a promotion. In fact, I am walking away from a guaranteed one as I am the only one that passed the captain's exam.

Thanks again, Greenfield, for the memories. This is both an exciting and sad day in my life. There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience!

Sincerely,
Mike Gilbert
Former Firefighter/Medic
Paint Creek EMS/Fire