News File Photo Alpena Township Fire Chief Mark Hansen sorts through a bag of supplies while at work in this February 2023 News file photo.

ALPENA — The Alpena Township Board of Trustees has searched long and hard to find a way to plan for the future of the township Fire Department, which has struggled with staffing and puts a strain on the township’s general fund budget.

On Wednesday, the township board will hear from its fire chief eight options for structuring and staffing the department in the future.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said the trustees won’t vote on any of the options on Wednesday and could elect to move forward with another option not presented.

None of the options include contracting with Alpena for fire and medical response services, which was considered two years ago.

OPTION ONE: THE STATUS QUO

The township could maintain the status quo and keep both its north side and south side fire stations operating.

That move would keep the staffing as-is and have a crew consisting of a fire chief, six full-time staff, and 15 paid-on-call first responders. That would mean the township would need more paid-on-call employees who get paid by the call.

A report on the Fire Department included in the trustees’ materials for Wednesday’s meeting notes that the downfall of not changing anything is the rising costs of maintaining two fire stations.

OPTION TWO: CHANGE SHIFTS

The township could switch from 24-hour shifts to having employees work a pair of 12-hour shifts. That move would reduce the chance of employee fatigue at the end of a busy shift, which would improve safety. It could also lead to less personal time off used as sick time and allow employees to use paid time off for “vacation and potentially improved family life,” the report says.

That option would not change fire protection coverage and the township could accomplish the change using the same staff.

The primary negative impact would be that the township would lose its exempt status from the Fair Labor Standards Act and force pay for employees who work more than 40 hours. It also could also draw the ire of the firefighters’ union.

OPTION THREE: LAY OFF FULL-TIME FIREFIGHTERS

The third consideration would have all of the full-time firefighters laid off and have the chief and deputy chief handle calls from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays.

Only about 20% of the township’s call volume comes in during those hours, the report says, and paid-on-call responders would be counted on to respond to assist.

The report says there would be significant cost savings with that option, but the downfall would be an inadequate roster of paid-on-call employees to support all runs. There would likely be a delay in response to emergency calls after the weekday hours.

OPTION FOUR: END NIGHTTIME STAFFING OF NORTH SIDE STATION

Option four would have the township end nighttime coverage from the north side station and depend on paid-on-call and employees working at the south side station to respond.

Ending night coverage north of Alpena would save the township about $61,283 in salary, not including benefits, and lead to the township losing its Fair Labor Standards Act status. The move would likely add, on average,10 minutes to response times.

While responding to runs in the northern portion of the township, the south side station would be depleted of its manpower to address any other calls that come in and mutual aid would be needed for assistance.

OPTION FIVE: CONTRACT FOR NORTH SIDE CALLS

The fifth option is no longer viable, a footnote in the report to the township board says. The report does not indicate why that plan is no longer available for consideration.

The proposal would have had the township contract with Presque Isle Township or Maple Ridge Township for coverage of north side nighttime calls.

Downfalls to that proposal include the contracted fire department’s paid-on-call employees would need to respond from farther away and response times would likely increase.

OPTION SIX: ADD TO SOUTH SIDE STATION

Adding another firefighter to the south side station to help during hours when call volumes are the highest is also an option, the report to the township board says.

The report says 68% of the calls at the south side station happen between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. That is also the time when paid-on-call employees are the least available, the report says.

That option would add $48,872 to labor costs, but could also improve service.

OPTION SEVEN: HIRE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Adding a pair of employees — a deputy chief and a community risk reduction officer — would add to firefighting coverage in the township and allow the Fire Department to complete other work, such as building safety inspections, and would reduce the need for paid-on-call employees during the day.

The report gave no figures for how much adding the two administrative positions would cost.

OPTION EIGHT: CONSOLIDATE FIRE STATIONS

The final option would be the most dramatic and surely raise costs.

The proposal would see the township purchase land on M-32 and add both a deputy chief and a community risk reduction officer.

The report to the township board estimates it would cost between $840,000 and $1 million to purchase the land and hire a consultant for design plans.

The move would mean the township would close the two current stations and consolidate operations under one roof. The township would sell the south side station to help offset costs.

That option would remove the need for a captain and allow more organized in-house training.

The cons are large, however.

The option would have a large price tag and property owners who live within five miles of the current station would lose points on their insurance premiums. Those points allow residents to -pay less in home insurance because of their close proximity to the full-time departments.

Having only one station would also cause longer response times to those who live in the north and south areas of the township.

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In 2021, the township and Alpena were in negotiations for the city Fire Department to handle all emergency runs in the township for up to $475,000 a year.

During that time, Alpena handled operations at the township’s north side station because of the township’s employee shortage, but that short-term deal was not renewed.

In late 2021, the township trustees voted four-to-three to not enter into the contract with Alpena and township trustees have since been looking for ways to cut costs, limit the department’s impact on general fund, and make sure the public has reliable emergency response.

The trustees have needed to allocate hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to help pay for the township Fire Department.

In 2022, the township tried twice for a property tax increase to support its Fire Department, but both times the proposal went down in defeat.