LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the city of Louisville faces major budget cuts, four local fire departments have voted to become one.
Anchorage-Middletown, Eastwood, Harrods Creek and Worthington fire departments voted to operate under one administration Wednesday, April 18.
Anchorage-Middletown Chief Andy Longstreet will remain chief while the other chiefs will take on other management roles. The departments hope to be merged by July 1.
Chief Kevin Tyler with Harrods Creek said the merger is not one of financial necessity, but more of a merger of administrative policies. Under one organization, Tyler will become the deputy chief of safety and personnel.
"Instead of us wearing ten hats, because that's what chiefs of small departments do, we're able to concentrate on some of our expertise that we have brought to the table when we became chiefs of the smaller departments," Tyler said.
The four fire departments have worked together on scenes for years, when it was necessary. Tyler said there will likely be some challenges with the transition, but believes the history will help it go more smoothly.
"We've been working out on the street together operationally for years, but we've still got to mesh those cultures together," Tyler said.
The department aren't just meshing cultures, but staff and resources. No currently employed firefighter or EMT staff will lose their jobs with the merger. The combined department will have 11 fire trucks and 8 ambulances, although Tyler said there are plans to add two more ambulances. There will be a $40 million budget, but tax changes will increase revenue.
"You won't see any change [on day one]," Tyler said. "Change will be slowly through attrition. We're not going to waste our tax dollars to repaint our trucks."
The communities will still see a slight change in taxes. Each will be brought to 14.5 cents that Anchorage-Middletown currently has. Harrods Creek will see a half cent increase, Worthington will see 4.5 cents increase and Eastwood will be reduced a half cent.
With increased revenue, Tyler said the department plans to upgrade some of the firehouses and equipment used on the streets. Tyler said he believes the merger will have a a lot of positive impacts on residents and the firefighters.
"Service, response time reduced, getting to them quicker, able to serve them with more," Tyler said. "It increases the safety for the resident. It also increases the safety for our firefighters."
Tyler said the merger will also be beneficial for recruiting and training purposes. He said firefighters and EMT's will have better chances of promotion.
"It gives them a career path," he said. "We invest a lot of money, a lot of resources in our employees, but we're always in competition with larger departments. Now they've got to compete with us."
The merger still needs to be signed by Mayor Greg Fischer for full approval, but the fire department chiefs said they don't anticipate any issues with that.