Concord Residents….do we need another Fire Station?

By Contributing Writer on January 17, 2018 • ( 0 )

Thanks to a Concord resident on the “heads up” on the this report on Facility Assessment & Fire Station Location Analysis, and the following information on the police and fire services in Concord.

Concord-Twp.-Facility-Study-2017

This newly released report which was initiated by OUR TRUSTEES assumes there is high density housing in district 3 (which as we know was never approved but yet they took this as fact to the state and had them base the report around it in order to try and force through more fire depts/spending):

Do we think Concord needs 3 fire stations?

Making a total of 6 FD properties+ All this staff when the number of ANNUAL calls is only 2,500 – about 200 per month?( https://www.facebook.com/concordtwpfd/photos/a.268829766628114.1073741833.268772946633796/809521539225598/?type=3&theater )?

“The department roster currently consists of 52 uniform personnel. This includes the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, six career lieutenants, nine career firefighters, three part-time lieutenants, 29 part-time firefighters, two part-time inspectors and one part-time educator. ”

Compare this with our law enforcement numbers below. Where should they be spending the money? And why with all the grants and money the FD has gotten over the years did they not improve upon their buildings? Oh wait they did- hundreds of thousands just a year ago and now they want to abandon? https://www.facebook.com/concordtwpfd/posts/651340818377005

Lake Sheriff Incidents in Concord ALONE: Over 1,500 A MONTH!

(http://www.lakecountyohio.gov/sheriffoffice/TownshipsInformation/ConcordTownship.aspx)
From Sheriff reports:

“As of 2015 , a National Average of 1.5 full-time law enforcement officers, for every 1,000 inhabitants, was employed by law enforcement agencies within the Midwest, with a population of 50,000*** to 99,999. This statistic was obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports. Deputy cost analysis using top rate salary to include benefits is $98,498.40, which was Page – 5 – of 7 obtained through the Human Resources Dept. The current manpower status for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is 27 full time Road Patrol Deputies to include supervisors and school resource officers. The national average for this population would be 84 officers. In 2016, the average daily number of deputies on duty within the jurisdiction of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was 11 deputies.” (Lake County has 55,000 residents***)

In a 2017 study based on FBI crime statistics, 4 of the 9 Cleveland-Akron Metro Townships with populations of 10k and above ranked among the 15 safest communities in Ohio (Chesterland(2), Olmsted Township (8), Sagamore Hills (13), Montville in Medina County

(14)). 4 other similarly sized cities in the Metro also made the Top 15 (Bay Village (3), Hudson (6), Brecksville (7), Seven Hills (9). Three other Lake County communities made the Top 100 (Eastlake (75), Willoughby (76), Mentor (84)). Concord failed to make the list of the 100 safest communities in the state.

I don’t have an answer on what to do- but I figured Defend Concord should have the facts in case the community is unaware and has an opinion which differs from that of the trustees proposal to try and push this forward…

(Comment: I do not know how the rest of Concord residents feel, but I for one am tired of all the real estate tax increases. We are pricing seniors and those living on fixed incomes out of their homes that they have worked all their lives to achieve,)