Columbus Fire and Rescue now has what it’s been seeking for the last five years — re-accreditation from the national Center for Public Safety and Excellence.
The price tag of remaining the only municipality in Mississippi to be accredited, has been about $250,000, according to Fire and Rescue Chief Martin Andrews.
Most of that expense was incurred from travel and training, including a three-day junket to Atlanta this week where firefighters and officials testified before a panel to finalize the re-accreditation. The approved price tag for that trip was more than $9,000, which covered lodging, meals and convention fees for four CFR administrators and Mayor Robert Smith, as well as travel costs for a third-party accreditation peer assessor. Similar contingents, all of which included the mayor, have also traveled to conferences in Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Florida in the name of re-accreditation.
The issue of accreditation, and the costs thereof, has sparked heated debate between certain council members and city administration for nearly a year, especially after the council learned last November the city had run consecutive years of general fund deficits of at least $800,000.
Councilmen have questioned if the re-accreditation process is worth it, at all. Even if it is, one issue at the center of the debate is whether Smith has to attend all, if any, of the training trips.
Smith has maintained he is required to testify before the accreditation board and answer questions about CFR.
“I’m not going to walk into that room not knowing what I’m talking about,” Smith previously told The Dispatch.
But on Wednesday, when the 12-person accreditation board convened, a livestream of the session The Dispatch viewed online revealed Smith’s contributions were scarcely more than introducing himself.
“I want the commission to know I am very committed to Columbus Fire and Rescue,” Smith told the CPSE board Wednesday. “I really appreciate the jobs they do for the citizens of Columbus.”
Three CPSE board members thanked Smith for coming to the panel and for his dedication to enhancing CFR. No questions were directed toward Smith during the 20-minute session.
All others in the city contingent — including Andrews, Assistant Chief Duane Hughes, Chief of Training Mike Chandler and Accreditation Manager Alan Lewis — did field questions from the panel.
A representative from CPSE, who asked not to be named, said fire departments seeking accreditation are only required to send the chief, the accreditation manager and the leader for the peer assessor team.
The CPSE representative said departments can send up to six representatives — which Columbus did — and it is always “awesome” when the mayor comes for support. Departments typically send what they can financially afford, the representative added.
“It depends on the finances and who can travel,” the representative said. “It’s great that the mayor came. … It doesn’t always happen. But it’s pretty standard to have six people.”
Upon learning on Wednesday from The Dispatch the mayor’s participation in the accreditation board interview, Ward 3 Charlie Box said he felt city administration misinformed the council.
“I’m not sure (Andrews) represented it the way he should have,” said Box, who has consistently approved accreditation travel, including the Atlanta trip. “… That’s what we were told was necessary. I had no reason to doubt him and that’s why I voted for it. … The chief still maintains that it was necessary for them to be there. I think there’s a big disagreement between him and us on who needs to go.”
Is accreditation worth it?
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin, who has been the most openly critical of re-accreditation expenses, engaged Andrews once more at a council meeting Tuesday to explain why the city needed it.
Andrews explained the accreditation process pushes CFR to effectively improve their training regimen and response times, among other things.
The chief argued it also helps with firefighter accountability.
“You can put a lot of things in place,” Andrews said. “We also say we’re going to exercise the first of the year. How long does that last before we get uninterested? It’s going to last as long as we’re accredited. One thing about accreditation, they hold your feet to the fire.”
Gavin remained unmoved.
“It appears to me we’re trying to have a Cadillac on a Chevy budget, or a Volkswagen budget,” Gavin told Andrews. “You’ve mentioned you improved your response time. I assume the response time is the gentlemen getting off the truck and answering the call a little quicker. Are these things you can’t practice and put into place without accreditation?”
In Tuesday’s discussion, Andrews said he has cut the fire department’s budget considerably over the past year in ways that have not affected accreditation. He said the Atlanta contingent even cut its plans a day short to bring the cost closer to $7,000.
“I believe in things being done the right way,” Andrews said. “I know 100 percent we have done our due diligence in cutting our budget. … If anybody really has a question and wants an answer, come to the source and ask.”
He also aimed to “clear up misconceptions” about the difference between national accreditation and the State Rating Bureau’s rating for the department, which affects homeowner insurance rates. Columbus is a Class 3, which rates it as one of the five best in the state. And while accreditation practices can indirectly help improve a department’s fire rating, the two are otherwise mutually exclusive.
“The truth is, the fire rating bureau and CPSE are two different entities,” he said. “(CPSE) mimics the state bureau of what we have to do. We’re trying to move to a Class 2. We’re trying to get businesses to come to this city and boost our tax base. It ain’t just about the fire department.”
Gavin, though, challenged Andrews to cut his budget deeper.
“I respect accreditation. I think it’s a good thing,” Gavin said. “It’s cost us a lot of money. … Part of my job is to try to help these city finances, and driving that Cadillac is going to be hard for us. I appreciate you cutting your budget, but we may have to cut deeper. If we get to a certain point where the city finances suffer, we might have to cut the fire department. Would you rather have a fire department or accreditation?”
Andrews considered silently a moment before answering.
“I’d rather have both,” he said. “If I had to choose, if I don’t have firefighters, I don’t have accreditation. When we are spending money, it shouldn’t be anything held against us. We took that money, and our training, and set it aside. This is a cost we budgeted for with the money you allowed us to have.”
When contacted by The Dispatch, all four city councilmen said they would look harder at all departments, including CFR, to find more fat to cut in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
Gavin maintains CFR will be a particular point of interest.
“I think the chief does a good job and I do think this accreditation is a good thing,” Gavin said. “It’s cost us a lot of money. Taking six people on this trip is not necessary. … Some people might say this is petty. It is petty. It’s small change. We’ve got to start somewhere though.”
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