Two Oakland County Communities Reach Agreement on Sharing Fire Services

Pontiac, MI, September 26, 2008 Beginning October 1st, the Village of Holly and Groveland Township will share fire services, a move that is expected to result in greater efficiencies and cost savings for both communities.

Under the Public Service Cooperative Agreement, Groveland Fire Chief Steve McGee and his command staff will become the command organization for Holly, conducting training programs for firefighters and overseeing the budget.

The cooperative agreement was inspired by Oakland County's Capital and Cooperative Initiative Revolving Fund (CCIRF) which makes funding available to local units of government that want to hire a third party to explore the feasibility of consolidating departments or sharing services.

"Oakland County initiated and paid for the original study, which brought a lot of things to light," said Chief McGee. "The study indicated the whole north end would benefit from greater cooperation through quicker response times and better service overall."

Chief McGee says both communities owe a debt of gratitude to the county because he doubts without the study the cooperative agreement would have happened.

The retirement of the Holly Fire Chief and the interim Chief's decision not to take the job on a permanent basis provided a window of opportunity for the cooperative agreement to be approved sooner than might otherwise have been the case.

Robert DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor, says citizens probably won't notice a difference in operations on a day-to-day basis, but what they will notice is an improved level of professionalism in response to fires and other emergencies.

"From our perspective this new arrangement helps utilize our personnel in the best way possible to respond to fires and various emergencies through a more streamlined centralized command structure," said DePalma.

Holly's Village Manager, Marsha Powers, says her community, which has had an advanced life support agreement with Groveland for the past two years, will receive service from Groveland for the same amount of money already budgeted for fire services. But she stressed this is not a consolidation of services, but rather a sharing of services, since both departments will maintain their own identities. Powers assures Holly residents they will continue to receive the same high level of service they have come to expect.

"This is yet another positive example of what can be accomplished when local communities sit down together and explore cooperative agreements that will produce cost savings and greater efficiencies for their communities," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "I salute both communities for their efforts to enhance the quality of life of fire services for their citizens."

Holly Police Chief Rollie Gackstetter said one of the key benefits of the cooperative agreement is that fire scenes will be handled by experienced command staff who are certified by the state, creating a new level of leadership that didnt exist before.

"It is great these local governments are sharing services to save taxpayer dollars while providing quality services," said Oakland County Board Chairman Bill Bullard, Jr.

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