On August 25, the Greater Clark Foundation (GCF) hosted a joint meeting of the Winchester City Commission and the Clark County Fiscal Court, held at the offices of the Board of Education. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the possibility of funding a study to determine the feasibility and desirability of combining the city and county fire/EMS services.
The estimated cost of the study is $200,000, with the city and county contributing $25,000 each and GCF funding the remainder. The meeting was not for the purpose of combining the departments, only to initiate the study.
The meeting lasted approximately one hour and was open to the public.
It was noted that, despite numerous discussions about merging these departments occurring over the years, there has never been a comprehensive study presented either to the residents of Clark County or the governing bodies that analyzed the feasibility of doing so.
A very detailed, eight-page Request for Proposal (RFP) has been prepared by the GCF which outlines the items that would be expected from any study. It is anticipated that a study will take several months.
Some note has been made of the number of studies that have been done locally, only to be set aside with no further action. This is unfortunately true, but every study initiated by the GCF has resulted in further work based on the findings of those studies, so the success of the foundation is well documented.
A motion to proceed with the study was voted on separately by each governing body during the meeting, with the city commission unanimously in favor of proceeding. The Fiscal Court voted not to proceed by a four to three vote, with Konstantopoulos, Pasley, Davis, and Miller voting no, and Blanton, Yates, and Craycraft voting yes.
A number of politically oriented questions arose during the meeting and were relayed separately, most specifically: Who would be in charge of a combined department? How would local government oversee a combined department?
These are valid questions but should not be the reason to deny going forward with the study. It’s even possible that findings might conclude that a department merger would not be in the best interests of all Clark County residents either monetarily or in the matter of providing better protection. The issues of control over a merged department could be addressed in a study, providing propositions and bases for discussion amongst the governing bodies.
So, the questions noted above should be held in abeyance until such a study is concluded.
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Even if a study were to suggest no advantage in a merger, that’s not to suggest that the findings would be totally worthless, as the underlying data could certainly prove useful for any future discussions when the population growth and density may well favor a merger.
One magistrate suggested that residents of the county might feel they are getting shortchanged by the merger of departments, and all agreed that protection in Clark County, with two separate departments, is of a good quality. Surely a study would address these issues. In fact, the very first item under “Scope of Work” in the RFP requires an examination of functional integration, which would include the impact of a merger on the safety and availability of services to all sections of the county.
There is always a reluctance on the part of our elected officials to spend money frivolously. Voters expect and appreciate that reluctance, but there must be a balance. A study going forward now offers the possibility of substantial gain at a modest cost, even more so should the study determine that a merger would prove financially beneficial. Section 2(e) of the RFP requires a case study of similar mergers, an examination that can provide sound data for comparison of cost issues.
The idea of a merger of our fire and EMS services is change — and change is often resisted. It’s natural to do so, but the potential advantages to Clark County residents at this time and with the aid of the GCF are providential and should not be denied.
The Fiscal Court is urged to bring this issue to the table again and to vote to proceed with the study. Clark County may never have this chance again. Take it! The politics can be worked out later — and with a plethora of data not now available.
