Elections 2018: Consolidation continues to be hot topic among fire commission candidates in Collier
Jake Allen
District consolidation continues to be a prevalent topic of discussion for fire commission candidates across Collier County this election cycle.
The North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District, the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District and the Immokalee Fire Control District each have three fire commission seats up for grabs. The election is Nov. 6.
However, all three candidates running for the Immokalee Fire Control District positions are unopposed incumbents.
The majority of candidates, nine of the 13, running for either the North Collier or Greater Naples fire commissions said they support more fire district consolidation in Collier County.
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One candidate said he is opposed, and another said he has not made his mind up on the issue. Two of the candidates could not be reached for comment.
The newly seated North Collier fire board also will face the task of replacing that district's Fire Chief James Cunningham, who has announced his retirement.
Two North Collier candidates back consolidation
Jim Burke, who has been a fire commissioner in Collier County for 10 years, will face Diane Flagg in the race for Seat 2 on North Collier’s fire commission.
Flagg is a paramedic who worked for Collier Emergency Services for 21 years and as chief of the organization for eight years. Both candidates said they are supportive of more fire district consolidation.
Matthew Christopher, who also filed to run for the seat, said on Tuesday he is pulling his name from consideration.
In 2014, Collier County voters approved the merger of the Big Corkscrew fire district with the North Naples fire district to form the North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District.
More:Early voting at Collier polls begins Oct. 25
If re-elected, Burke said the next four years will be his final term as a fire commissioner. He said he would push for the consolidation of all fire districts from unincorporated portions of the county into one unit.
This would exclude fire departments from the cities of Naples and Marco Island and makes sense for efficiency and cost-saving purposes, Burke said.
Flagg agreed with Burke that more fire district consolidation within the county could be a good thing, but she said the key is ensuring consolidation leads to savings.
“When you hear consolidation, you think it equals efficiency, but based on most recent experience with Big Corkscrew and North Naples that’s not what I see happening,” Flagg said. “If you are making commitments to the community, such as lowering taxes, you need to keep those.”
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North Collier chairman challenged
Chris Lombardo, who served on the North Naples fire commission from 1998 to 2014 and is the current chairman of the North Collier fire commission, faces two challengers in the race for North Collier’s Seat 4.
Lombardo said his experience working on more than one merger between fire districts gives him an advantage over other candidates. He is in favor of more fire district consolidation in the county.
“Consolidation is something we need to at least consider at all times,” Lombardo said. “Bigger isn’t always better and sometimes we can learn from separate districts how to do things better.”
Richard Hoffman, a North Collier fire commissioner from 2014 to 2016 , is running against Lombardo. Hoffman opposed the 2014 merger that created the North Colleir district.
Hoffman, an accountant, said from the former North Naples district's perspective the merger had no economic benefits.
“When two districts merge you can’t lay off or close stations or sell fire engines and there really are no dollars to be saved,” Hoffman said. “North Naples taxpayers are now subsidizing fire services in Big Corkscrew.”
More:Voters soundly reject North Collier, Immokalee fire service fees
The merger cannot be undone at this point and Hoffman’s goal is to make it work as best as possible, he said.
“It makes no sense to merge different fire departments with different needs, with different equipment and different costs,” Hoffman said.
Lombardo defended the 2014 merger, saying additional savings will come in the form of equipment sharing and discounts on insurance the merger will bring for years to come.
North Collier and Immokalee fire districts should talk about whether consolidation makes sense and, if so, take steps to make it happen, Lombardo said.
Arnold Klinsky, a former TV reporter and station manager in New York, is also running for Seat 4 on the North Collier fire commission.
As for further fire district consolidation within the county, Klinsky said he is for it if it is well thought out and there are instances where the districts are already working together.
He has experience managing a budget from running the TV station in New York and believes there are a lot of cost-saving efforts the North Collier fire commission could be taking advantage of, Klinsky said.
Open seat on North Collier board
Seat 5 on the North Collier fire commission is up for early election because John McGowan gave it up before his term expired to run for Collier circuit court judge.
Ramon Chao was appointed by the fire commission after McGowan’s resignation. Chao is running to keep the seat. In 1991, Chao moved to Naples where he began a 15-year career with Collier County EMS.
Chao served for six years on the former Big Corkscrew fire commission and pushed for the merger, which created the North Collier fire district.
However, Chao could not be reached for comment on his current thinking about more fire district consolidation.
Chao originally faced five challengers in the race for Seat 5, but two have withdrawn and one will not appear on the ballot because he did not qualify.
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James Calamari, one of Chao’s remaining challengers, manages the budget for Pelican Marsh Community Development District.
Calamari said he is “middle of the road” on additional fire district consolidation and said voters should make the final decision.
“I would be in favor if it meant better service, faster response times and cost savings,” Calamari said. “None of that matters unless the people approve it first. I am a firm believer in asking the people what they want.”
Janet Vasey, an outspoken opponent of the recently failed North Collier fire district fee, is also running for Seat 5 on the North Collier fire commission.
Vasey said she supports more fire district consolidation but doesn’t think now is the right time for it as fire districts are facing financial challenges.
If elected, Vasey said she would apply better financial management and find areas where tax dollars could be saved.
“Over the last 20 years I’ve been involved with the district and the commissioners haven’t been very careful with tax dollars,” Vasey said. “They tend to not be frugal and I think that’s one of the things needs to be changed.”
Greater Naples incumbents face off
Two incumbents on the Greater Naples fire commission will face off for Seat 1.
The district was formed in 2014 when voters approved a merger between the East Naples and Golden Gate fire districts. In accordance with the post-merger plan, the Greater Naples fire commission is being downsized to a five-member board this election cycle.
Candidates Charlie Cottiers and Brian Cross both said they are in support of more fire district consolidation.
“I feel I haven’t finished what I originally wanted to do, which was consolidate the fire districts in the county into one unit, except for the department in Naples and on Marco Island,” said Cottiers, who has been a fire commissioner since 2012.
If Cottiers is re-elected and everything goes as he plans, by the end of his term there would be one fire district that covers all of Collier County except for Marco Island and Naples, he said.
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This would mean the consolidation of the North Collier, Greater Naples and Immokalee fire districts into one unit.
Cottiers said the key to making this happen is getting the firefighter unions from all three districts to agree to the plan and cooperate.
Cross, a fire commissioner for six years and current chairman of the Greater Naples fire commission, said one countywide fire district with a single property tax rate would work best.
He said this will take time to implement but will be the most effective way to deliver fire services at the best cost.
If re-elected, Cross said he will continue to work with Immokalee and North Collier fire districts to see where operations and administrative services can be consolidated.
A single millage rate for the entire county would have to be phased in over five to 10 years, he said.
More consolidation supporters
David Stedman, a fire commissioner for 12 years, helped push for the consolidation of the East Naples and Golden Gate fire districts and said he is in favor of further fire district consolidation.
“It just makes sense, why do things twice,” Stedman said. “You have to audit both entities and make sure neither is taking on a financial burden obviously, but this is a way to reduce duplication.”
Dominic Tomei, a former Navy veteran, firefighter and paramedic, will face off against Stedman in the race for the Greater Naples fire district Seat 3.
Tomei, who serves as chaplain for the North Collier district, could not be reached for comment.
Kevin Gerrity, a fire commissioner for eight years, is the lone candidate running for Greater Naples fire district Seat 4.
Like most candidates facing challengers, Gerrity said he will push for more fire district consolidation.
Gerrity served as the chief of Cleveland’s fire department for six years and said this experience has influenced his decision making as a fire commissioner.
“Coming from a large organization, almost everything works better in a bigger organization,” Gerrity said. “There is better training, less redundancy, a lot less bureaucracy.”