District 6, which operates from the White Horse Fire Co., is the second Hamilton district to pass such a resolution, after District 9 in Groveville passed a similar resolution last month.
HAMILTON -- The District 6 Board of Fire Commissioners in Hamilton passed a resolution Monday night calling for the township's nine fire districts to consolidate into one district or municipal fire department.
The district, which operates from the White Horse Fire Co., is the second in Hamilton to pass such a resolution recently. District 9 in Groveville passed a similar resolution last month.
District 6 commissioners Chairman Keith Quinlan said the board had met with District 9's board and basically share their beliefs, that Hamilton needs one, unified firefighting effort.
"We had discussed the whole issue with District 9, we decided we agreed and we passed the same resolution," Quinlan said.
The resolutions say Hamilton should have one municipal fire department or fire district, which would have one tax rate, one personnel system with a clear chain of command, one hiring and promotions plan for career firefighters and one centralized equipment replacement program.
Such a consolidation could enhance the township's volunteers, unify a disjointed fire service and guarantee proper financial controls, the resolution states.
Plus, the resolutions call for Hamilton to have just one, five-commissioner board to run fire services in the township, instead of nine boards with 45 fire commissioners, who all draw a salary.
Such a unification of the districts would be a savings to taxpayers, proponents of consolidation say.
Hamilton's nine districts employ about 110 career firefighters, and the two unions that represent them also want the consolidation of the districts, or the creation of a municipal fire department.
The resolutions passed by districts 6 and 9 also counter an effort by four other districts -- 2, 3, 4 and 7 -- to form a legal entity called a Joint Meeting to share services among the four districts.
The joint meeting, proponents say, is also an effort toward consolidation, and the entity has plans to share resources, like fire apparatus purchases, insurance agreements and even personnel.
The joint meeting, which holds public meetings but is just starting out, will also save taxpayer money, commissioners in those districts say. All Hamilton districts are invited to join the joint meeting as well, they say.
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Like District 9 commissioners, Quinlan said he believes the joint meeting would add another, unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and it will not reduce the number of commissioners.
Quinlan attended a recent joint meeting and said he does not see how it will do anything but create more work.
"It's just in shambles. There's no plan, and you don't see much of anything (getting done)," Quinlan said.
Quinlan said he did not come to this decision lightly. He retired from the Trenton Fire Department after 25 years, he's been a White Horse commissioner for several years and it's time for a change.
"I am well aware of what's going here," he said. "We want the whole township to be one district or department."
The process to close, or have a district absorbed, takes a petition to the township council from 5 percent of a district's voters.
The firefighters unions say they are working on the petitions.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
