It will come as no surprise the leaders of the local tempest known as Tontitown might take actions that aren't in the best interests of the town's residents and businesses. The very way the town is governed comes to mind, but today we're getting a little more specific than that.
Aldermen recently approved a two-year contract with the Tontitown Area Fire Department, which has provided coverage for Tontitown and beyond for years. The city has relied on those firefighters, but wisely sees a future in which the growing town will need a municipal fire department.
What’s the Point?
Conversion the Tontitown Police Department into a public safety department is a get-by response to a politically difficult issue, not a long-term solution.
The board of the fire department has not yet approved the contract for the next two years, and it's no sure bet it will. The discussions between the city and the firefighting organization have at times been tense. Members of the fire department are none too sure about their firefighting mission becoming embroiled in city politics.
But there is an assumption that converting the primarily volunteer organization into the municipal department is the smart move, and it's hard to argue there's not some wisdom in that. The contract hashed out by Alderman Joey Pianalto and Paul Colvin, a member of the fire department board, anticipates a $124,148 annual payment to the department over the next two years, but at the end of that period, all equipment would become the property of the city.
"I think the council and the mayor think they are buying the department," Colvin said. "The money is for fire service. That's all."
Beyond that debate is what the city's done in the meantime: It eliminated its police department and created in its place a Public Safety Department, based on the idea that law enforcement officers can be trained to meet the community's firefighting needs. It's like fighting a blaze with a garden hose: It's the same basic approach to the task, but woefully inadequate.
As convenient as cross-training might seem to Tontitown leaders, the dangers involved create too much risk to the public employees involved and the public they are there to serve.
Why not cross-train aldermen and the mayor to respond to fire or law enforcement calls? Why not other city employees? Because it wouldn't be effective. We certainly rank law enforcement officers and firefighters highly in terms of their skill sets, but they are distinctly different jobs requiring distinctly different skills.
"Most police officers want to do police work," said Sam Williams, police chief in Maumelle in central Arkansas. "The same is true for firefighters. We lost some people, when we were cross-training, who left to take a job to do what they wanted to do."
Williams' department no longer cross-trains, having figured out the jack-of-all-trades approach simply wasn't a good fit.
The Public Safety Department is a get-by approach, not a solution. It has the appearance of expediency in the midst of a political conflict local officials can't resolve, and that's a bad design for emergency services.
A cross-bred approach puts too much expectation on people already putting their lives on the line. The protectors don't deserve to be treated like hybrid machines.
The future of firefighting in Tontitown is a political issue to be worked out, and ignored problems rarely go away. The proposed one-size-fits-all Public Safety Department may look like a way to put out a fire, but it's not a good way.
Certainly, having someone -- anyone -- responding to a blaze is better than nothing, but the people of Tontitown deserve a higher standard than that, don't they?
Commentary on 03/14/2014