Mat-Su fire department eyes budget increase

WASILLA -- Central Mat-Su Fire Department wants a 75 percent budget increase for the fiscal year beginning in July, a move Chief Jack Krill Jr. believes will eventually save money for property owners in the service area due to lower insurance premiums.

Krill proposes boosting the current funding of 1.0 mill to 1.75 mills. He said that's required to keep pace as the Wasilla-Lakes Fire Service Area grows.

"It's our plan to keep an efficient system," he said.

The department needs more staff positions in its operating budget as well as more money in the capital budget to replace worn-out vehicles and other equipment, he said. Krill estimates the department will have to replace at least one engine or tanker every year for the next 10 years.

To meet future needs in the service area, which has grown an average of 8 percent each of the past 10 years, Krill helped develop a master plan to improve the department's rating and thereby cut home insurance costs. The plan also will reduce the annual fire loss, he said.

The chief acknowledges a funding increase to 1.75 mills "may seen significant" to service area residents. However, he said it's possible the rate may decline to 1.60 or 1.50 by fiscal year 2012, to 1.40 in fiscal 2013, and to 1.40 in fiscal 2014.

The department's 10-year master plan calls for increasing the number of firefighters from the current 95 to 150 within five years and up to 200 in 10 years.

About 50 people are on the department's waiting list to become firefighters. Krill said it would be a "giant leap" to add that many trained firefighters, but the department can't do it without also getting funding for their protective equipment.

Central Mat-Su Fire Department must be capable of fighting two structure fires simultaneously and that's possible with a staff of 150, he said.

More administrators also are needed, Krill said, particularly a deputy fire chief.

"The current staff is working at maximum effort to sustain what we currently have," he said. "The demand on the paid on-call members to perform additional administrative duties is overwhelming and ineffective."

More funding also will help build two needed fire stations to bridge the gap in coverage that now exists. The gaps, where residents are more than five miles from a station, are from Mile 3 to 5 on Fairview Loop and from Mile 12 to 16 on Knik-Goose Bay.

"The residents in these areas are paying the same property taxes for fire protection but are not receiving the same reduction in insurance rates," Krill said.

The department also is developing a training complex on 74 recently purchased acres near Mile 6 Knik-Goose Bay Road.

"We are lacking in several key areas in our training course, such as flammable liquid training such as diesel fires, and pressurized gas such as natural gas and propane," the chief said.

The complex also will have a large area for firefighters to practice driving various rigs and taking driving tests that must be passed each year.

"Now we do that in makeshift parking lots," Krill said.

He has presented plans for the department's long-term goals and the required funding increases to North Lakes and South Lakes community groups, both of which are supportive, Krill said. He said he'll visit more community councils before the budget request reaches the Mat-Su Borough Assembly in late April.

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.