See my blog from June 8, 2011 about conversation I had with a city councilor where I talked about consolidation of services as the costs did not make sense and that is what happened in Australia in the 90's. Aivars Lode
Tuesday’s election results were historic for taxpayers who have clamored for more than a decade to consolidate Collier County’s empire of separate fire districts.
In each of four fire districts with a say in mergers, voters supported consolidating by percentages ranging from 61 percent to 70 percent.
Mergers passed to combine East Naples and Golden Gate fire districts and to blend North Naples and Big Corkscrew fire districts. This creates opportunities to trim administrative costs while adding frontline personnel and quick response equipment.
Taxpayers will save by not needing a new fire administration building in East Naples, projected to cost $5 million or more, because the merged district can use Golden Gate’s new headquarters. In the northern part of the county, the merger prevents separate districts from having to build two stations not far from one another on opposite sides of the boundary.
Benefits in North Naples-Big Corkscrew include reducing the number of chiefs, cutting costs, and redirecting the savings into front-line personnel and equipment. The merger is projected to save taxpayers $2.3 million in the first five years.
More than two-thirds of voters in a 2010 straw ballot supported the idea that independent fire districts in Collier County and other districts operated by county government should merge. Tuesday’s results are a welcome call to end fire district fiefdoms in Collier County.
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