Thursday, Jan. 10, 08

Fire Sale

City Beautiful may provide fire services to Pinecrest

By Stephanie Rodriguez

Citing financial concerns, the Coral Gables City Commission said it could not yet commit to providing fire rescue services to the village of Pinecrest on Tuesday.

The proposal, which calls for hiring 27 firefighters and one fire inspector for Pinecrest, would relieve the Miami-Dade County Fire Department of responsibility for the village.

Pinecrest would pay $6 million to the city the first year and $5.25 million the following four years.

“When we made the proposal we thought it would be a win-win situation,” Coral Gables Deputy Fire Chief Tim Daniels said.

City Manager David Brown put the five-year proposal together with Fire Chief Richard Cook in August.

“There were two parameters that the city manager set for the proposal,” Daniels said. “The proposal could not put a negative financial impact [on] the city and it could not diminish service to residents of Coral Gables.”

The city of Coral Gables would invest $4 million the first year to provide a fire engine, a rescue truck and equipment.

“If we reach an agreement, Pinecrest would pay Coral Gables about $6 million, and each year Coral Gables could make a potential profit of $2 million,” Daniels said.

Daniels also said that Pinecrest would save money by switching service providers.

Coral Gables firefighters currently respond to Pinecrest only when called in by other departments. If commissioners approve the deal, the city would purchase a fire truck and a rescue truck for the area, and Gables firefighters would respond to all Pinecrest calls.

 “Anytime calls are outside of our units it leaves a void,” Cook said. “This proposal would benefit both areas.”

Though Cook encouraged the mayor and commissioners to approve the proposal, they expressed concerns.

“If it’s going to affect our [insurance] ratings, I have a problem,” said Commissioner Wayne Withers.

“When you say 28 new firefighters I think pension plan, salary, etc.,” Commissioner Rafael Cabrera said. “With our current situation, I do not feel comfortable with that.”

Mayor Donald Slesnick said he doesn’t want to move forward “at all.”

Gables elected officials weren’t the only ones with concerns.

“I think it’s a bad deal for everyone,” Miami-Dade Fire Chief Steven Hills said. “Fire systems work best when they don’t have boundaries.”

Disputing Daniels’ and Cook’s scenario, Hills said the proposal would only save a few people a few dollars. About 1.6 million people would pay the difference and they would lose service, Hills said.

Plus, there are currently six Miami-Dade fire stations within four miles that cover the Pinecrest area, and Coral Gables would service the village with only two stations.

“There’s all kind of issues that nobody’s thought of,” he said.

Hills said those in both Coral Gables and Pinecrest could lose their Insurance Service Organization ratings, a system used to rate fire stations.

“They may see their property insurance go up if the rating gets lowered,” Hill said, adding that 40 percent of the department’s rating is based on its water supply.

“Pinecrest doesn’t have a lot of water supply,” Hills said. “Under the county system their ISO rate is averaged in with other broader regions and makes them have an average ISO rating.”

Hills said Pinecrest residents would save only $3 per resident per week if they switched to the Gables — and if property insurance goes up, residents would save nothing.

“It’s the system [ISO] that matters at the end of the day,” He said. “A premium cup of coffee a week at Starbucks would be the cost of raising your risk factor.”