BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — There was a full house at Lakeside Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 30, pushing for more firefighter funding for the Beaver Lake Fire Department.
“We’re dealing with the shortfall,” said John Redwine, the president of the fire department board. The shortfall he refers to relates to the funding for the community's fire department. “And we’re a third of the way into the year. So, we made some difficult decisions.”
Those decisions include laying off four out of the ten full-time firefighters come December and cutting the chief’s salary by 7.5%.
“Why didn’t you just come to everybody and tell us what was happening rather than just make a plan without us?” asked one resident during the community meeting.
The community is upset about the decision, citing a lack of communication that possibly cost 7,000 people longer wait times.
“We have chosen this board to do what’s best for this community, for years,” said a resident. “But no longer.”
Prior to the possible increase in wait times, the department’s board considered becoming a Fire Protection District.
“We believe that would be best for our community,” said Redwine.
A fire protection district normally changes the organizational structure and can require additional funding. That proposal was quickly shot down by the community. Many say that wasn’t communicated and discussed.
“I’ve lost trust, a lot of people lost trust with what happened,” said a resident, continuing to list the people he’s lost trust in, including the fire chief and the board.
“It was a big mistake,” another resident said. “In the way that it was handled. I actually believe that their motives were genuine.”
The department’s board says they are trying to keep the community safe.
“How are we going to fund the fire department when we’re having difficulty attracting and retaining firefighters?" Redwine asked.
The department is also working to recruit volunteer firefighters, however, Redwine said they’ve had none apply within the last few months.
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