Butler County fire departments have long shared purchasing and equipment testing, but a new study shows there are other avenues to pursue that could save more taxpayer money.
Officials in all nine jurisdictions that participated in the two-year study agree sharing testing results in the part-time personnel hiring process is the most valuable observation to come out of the 115-page study.
Between 2009 and 2014 it cost eight of the nine jurisdictions — Hamilton didn’t have anyone leave — $217,012 to replace 49 people who went elsewhere. Liberty Twp. took the biggest hit, spending $44,910 administering an entrance exam, performing background checks, a polygraph and psychological assessment, and a medical physical among other measures, to replace six people.
Liberty Twp. Fire Chief Paul Stumpf and Monroe Chief John Centers were the prime movers behind the $84,000 study — they received an Local Government Innovation Fund grant for the project — and the chiefs are getting ready to start implementing parts of it.