Crisis in Cleveland: Fire service overwhelmed by calls, underwhelmed by funds

In the face of growing population and escalating emergency calls, the City of Cleveland’s fire service is grappling with critical funding and resource shortfalls. Fire Chief Sean Anderson’s alarming revelation at a town hall meeting at Cleveland Civic Center on Thursday, June 27, underscored a dire need for solutions.

The dramatic spike in average monthly calls — from 46 in 2012 to 250 in 2024 — without much of a corresponding increase in funding from Liberty County, highlights a systemic issue that potentially could jeopardize public safety, Anderson believes.

The situation is exacerbated by the dwindling number of firefighters, with an average of only three per shift available to cover a city nearing 10,000 residents, not including those in the broader fire district.

This challenge is further aggravated by the inadequate funding and support for services delivered beyond the city boundaries. The current financial arrangement with Liberty County, providing just $91,000 annually, is insufficient, not even meeting the fire department’s expenses for a single month, which amounted to $97,000 in May 2024.

During the town hall meeting, which was led by Mayor Danny Lee and attended by the entire city council, viewpoints were offered by citizens on how to address these challenges.

Mayor Lee set the stage with a pointed remark about the challenges facing the city: “The city of Cleveland provides fire and EMS services outside the city limits, and we are not getting compensated for it.”

This set the tone for the evening, underscoring the inadequate funding for services. Yet, Mayor Lee was adamant that the city would never compromise on providing fire services, despite the financial strain, to ensure the safety of area residents.

Next City Manager Scott Swigert stressed the essential role of fire protection services in ensuring community safety. He also highlighted the council’s commitment to pursuing a fair agreement with county leadership to address funding issues. The County has offered the City $91,000 annually, which the City has rejected.

“Our fire protection services are often the first line of defense, against fires, natural disasters, and other emergencies. We understand that ensuring these services are effective, efficient, and adequately equipped to handle any situation is not just a priority, but a necessity that we have to take,” Swigert said. “As many of you know, the County did not approve an increase this year in funding for the City to provide our services to those county residents within our fire district. Without a funding increase to the agreement, the City could not agree to accept the $91,000 agreement.”

Swigert said it is wrong for city residents to have to shoulder the financial responsibility for providing fire service to residents outside the city limits.

This transitioned smoothly into the perspectives shared by former Cleveland firefighters David Adams and Robert Enloe. Adams introduced the idea of narrowing the scope of the fire department’s responses to better manage the overwhelming call volume. Enloe proposed the use of more cost-effective vehicles for specific emergency scenarios, potentially alleviating some financial pressure. Further exploring financial solutions, Enloe brought up the potential creation of an emergency services district (ESD) to secure additional funding, though he acknowledged the uncertainty of whether such a district would contract with Cleveland’s fire services.

Another resident suggested that the City strive to recoup more costs related to inspections and permits, aiming to enhance revenue without compromising service.

Randi Coats Anderson, a medical professional and wife of Chief Anderson, highlighted the critical nature of response times in medical emergencies, expressing concerns over the potential risks of tightening the fire district’s service area as it might eliminate her home as she lives a mile outside the city limits.

“When Sean collapsed, time was of the essence. The fire department arrived 15 minutes before EMS. I will be forever grateful for their help because Sean is with us today. I’m concerned, as a citizen, as we live one mile outside of the city limits. This could mean longer response times….when minutes count,” she said.

Kelly Harvey, another resident, warned of the broader economic implications, such as the impact on homeowners’ insurance and mortgage defaults, if the fire department were to limit its service area. This would create a cascading effect on the local economy as people would be less able to purchase goods and services.

An additional challenge, not extensively discussed at the meeting, is the city’s need to respond to EMS calls due to limited ambulance availability during multiple simultaneous emergencies.

Cleveland contracts with Allegiance for one and a half ambulances — meaning there is one dedicated unit available at all times, with additional assistance provided by another unit when the primary ambulance is engaged and a second is needed. However, when multiple calls come in, and the ambulance is already deployed on one call, firefighters have no choice but to respond to other calls. Historically, Cleveland managed its own ambulance service and charged residents for these services, though collecting payments was often difficult.

In the past, Liberty County EMS provided countywide ambulance services, but this company is now defunct. Currently, Liberty County (unincorporated areas), Cleveland and Dayton contract out their EMS services. In contrast, the City of Liberty still maintains its own ambulance service, handling calls within its city limits and offering mutual aid to other areas on a more limited basis.

Swigert wrapped up the town hall meeting by highlighting the longstanding nature of the funding issues.

“The current crisis did not happen overnight, going on for many years. We’re trying to resolve it. We’re doing the best that we can, but we’ve got to have some assistance to take this to the front,” he explained.

He elaborated on a proposal discussed earlier in the meeting: ‘We came up with a proposal that I mentioned earlier. We thought it was fair. We told [the County] that for the last three years, as the agreement was supposed to be adjusted annually based on the previous three years’ costs, we have exceeded $400,000 a year in services. We were asking for $400,000 for this year knowing that our expenses were going to be over $600,000 this year.”

Swigert then detailed a tiered approach in the revised proposal, which involved the County paying $200,000 this year, $400,000 the next year, and $600,000 the third year. After this initial period, the contributions would once again be determined yearly based on the average actual costs of the previous three years.

Swigert expressed frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations, emphasizing the city’s need for a gradual increase in funding to match growing demands. He acknowledged that the County faces similar budget constraints, which is why the city proposed a phased approach to funding increases.

“I was hoping to see the amount stair-stepped each year or so to keep up with the financial demands; however, those efforts appear to have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

He revealed his challenges in getting the county’s attention, saying, “I was told to come back when it is budget planning time. Well, it’s budget time, and we still have not been able to get a meeting set up. We did invite them to be here tonight, but haven’t seen anything so I just ask the citizens to please contact the County and let them know your concerns, the issues that you brought up, so we can try to come up with some kind of solution.”

Despite the importance of these discussions, not a single county official attended the meeting. The same evening’s presidential debate likely affected attendance, leading to a sparsely populated meeting hall.

The meeting ended with a message encouraging residents to attend County Commissioners Court meetings, which are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in the Liberty County Court at Law on the second floor of the Liberty County Courthouse. Meetings start at 9 a.m.