Board Chairman Bernard Crammer Jr. said Thursday that the 5-0 vote passing a resolution calling for consolidation came after long discussions.
HAMILTON -- The District 5 Board of Fire Commissioners on Wednesday became the third board to vote for the consolidation of the township's nine fire districts.
Board Chairman Bernard Crammer Jr. said Thursday that the 5-0 vote passing a resolution calling for consolidation came after long discussions.
"We believe, for the residents and firefighters, that consolidation would be better," Crammer said Thursday. The district operates from the DeCou Hose Co. off South Broad Street.
Fire District 6 in White Horse passed a consolidation resolution Monday night, and District 9 in Groveville passed a similar resolution last month.
Crammer said while District 5's resolution is in line with what districts 6 and 9 have passed, it's not a carbon copy.
District 5 used their own language and it's a little different, Crammer said.
The resolution includes language that calls for volunteers to not be forgotten in any consolidation process, as well as the eight career firefighters the district employs, he said.
DeCou bucks the trend of vanishing volunteer firefighters, Crammer said. While one of the smaller fire companies, DeCou has about 30 active volunteers, and a volunteer chief and deputy chief.
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The volunteers enjoy a good relationship with the district's career staff, and the board wants them to be a part of any future reorganization or consolidation.
"We don''t want the volunteers left out. We're looking out for everyone," Crammer said.
The resolutions passed by districts 6 and 9 say Hamilton should have one unified firefighting force with 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 resolutions state. They also say consolidation should come in the form of a municipal fire department, or one township-wide district, with one tax rate.
Currently, the nine districts all have varying tax rates. Such a unification of the districts would be a savings to taxpayers, proponents of consolidation say.
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.
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Hamilton's nine districts employ about 110 career firefighters in all.
The two fire labor unions that represent the career staff also want the consolidation of the districts, or the creation of a municipal fire department.
Shane Mull, a firefighters union vice president, has said volunteer Hamilton firefighters would not be forgotten if consolidation occurs. "We would incorporate them into new system, in a responsible fashion."
The consolidation resolutions passed by the districts do not have any real power to create a unified firefighting unit, but commissioners say they are formal declarations meant to highlight the issue and get residents talking.
The process to close, or have a district absorbed, takes a petition to the township council from 5 percent of a district's voters.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
