Guest Column: The hidden costs of Anne Arundel County’s overtime policy

The Capital's recent expose on overtime costs in Anne Arundel County ("Punching the Clock: Anne Arundel Costs Rise to $20 Million") only partially revealed the true costs of an official policy that preferred extending overtime to current employees versus hiring new staff. The overtime first policy had a significant impact on the fire department and the communities it serves.

Fire departments in Galesville, Herald Harbor and Russett/ Maryland City were all downgraded by insurance rating agencies because of poor staffing. Insurance companies use staffing as a key indicator for determining the readiness of a fire station to respond to a homeowner in the event of an emergency. Poor staffing means higher insurance rates because it impacts the station's response or availability.

While a patched solution was developed by Anne Arundel officials to address staffing in Galesville and Herald Harbor earlier this summer, Russett/Maryland City has remained the only community in Anne Arundel County without adequate staffing at its volunteer fire station. The county's overtime first policy has effectively left Russett/Maryland City, a community of approximately 17,000 residents without a fully functioning fire department (as defined by insurance rating agencies) for four years.

Homeowners in Russett/Maryland City are indeed paying for the county's poor decision. My insurance rate alone has gone up by well over 30 percent over the past four years. The increase in homeowner insurance rates functions quite simply as a hidden tax. When multiplied by the thousands of homeowners in Russett/Maryland City, the extra premiums paid to insurance companies could have easily paid for an additional four to six firefighters by my estimation. Other hidden costs may not be so obvious to taxpayers but they are just as important for public safety.

Mutual aid is a call to a neighboring fire department for help. It is designed to temporarily, emphasis on temporarily, support a jurisdiction like Anne Arundel County in the event of a major incident -- usually a catastrophic event that might consume an inordinate amount of firefighting resources for a single emergency. The good-faith agreements ensure continuity of service until the catastrophic event in the home jurisdiction is resolved.

Under the Maryland Public Information Act, I reviewed calls for mutual aid for our fire station in Russett/Maryland City (Engine 27). To my amazement, nearly 300 calls for help for Engine 27 alone went out to Howard and Prince George's counties fire department over the past year. It is a stunning number for just one fire station. The number works out to almost six calls for help per week! This simple fact alone should alarm every household in Anne Arundel County.

Mutual aid agreements were never intended to be used for routine and ordinary fire protection simply because a jurisdiction like Anne Arundel County simply failed to hire more firefighters -- to in effect save money at the expense of neighboring fire departments. Such misuse of the agreements fundamentally undermines the premise of mutual aid, sets a terrible policy precedent, and risks the goodwill of political leaders in Howard and Prince George's counties.

The county's overtime first policy failed Galesville, Herald Harbor and Russett/Maryland City. Our county needs a new strategy for public safety that supports the public safety needs of every community equally and continuously. In their ongoing discussion about benefits for county employees, the Anne Arundel County Council and county executive have a clear opportunity to further rid our jurisdiction of a disastrous overtime policy that unfairly costs homeowners and neighboring jurisdictions thousands of dollars. There are signs of hope. As of this writing, Engine 27 is scheduled to receive two new staff members in 2014. It has however been a long and costly wait for a community (and its partners at Engine 27) that deserves so much more.

The writer is a long-time community activist who lives in the Russett community of Anne Arundel County.