Trustees point to regionalization to keep costs down

Trustees believe regionalization is a way to keep costs down.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Boardman and Austintown are still planning to talk about joining safety forces. But is Canfield Township still in? Maybe. Maybe not.
Canfield Trustee Bill Reese had hosted one meeting March 1 about regionalization at Canfield Township Hall that included Austintown Trustee David Ditzler and Boardman Trustee Robyn Gallitto, and Reese again had the hall open March 23 for what he thought would be another meeting between the three.
But the other two trustees were no-shows, Reese reported at the Canfield trustees' meeting March 27. He called regionalization, which was on the meeting agenda for discussion, a dead issue.
He said after the meeting that Canfield would not be interested in participating. "We feel what we have now is way above average as far as quality and cost of services," he added.
The township and city of Canfield are served by the Cardinal Joint Fire District, which has its own governing board. The township also has a contract with the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department for police services.
Cost-saving factor
Boardman and Austintown, with their own police and fire departments, say they want to keep costs from escalating. One way to do that, say Ditzler and Gallitto, would be to combine forces in a way that would save money without compromising the quality of services they have now.
Last week, Gallitto said she is surprised Reese believes the issue is not worth pursuing.
"He was the expert who was going to lead us," she said. "He was very enthusiastic." She said she and Ditzler had agreed to postpone the March 23 meeting, but she thought he would tell Reese.
Gallitto said she is still open to discussing regionalization, and that the township fire chief is looking into the pros and cons. She said the fire chiefs were expected to meet.
The fire chiefs, including Robert Tieche, chief of the Cardinal district, did meet early last week, Ditzler said. "Andy [Austintown fire Chief Andrew Frost] told me they had a meeting and some good conversation," Ditzler added.
He said it was an oversight that Reese wasn't told the March 23 meeting was postponed, and that Austintown is still interested in talking. "We want to look at dispatching first," Ditzler said.
Tieche said he can't answer whether regionalization really is a dead issue for Canfield.
The fire district's governing board, not the township or the city, has the authority to make decisions concerning whether to participate. But, Tieche said, the township and city still have influence over the board because it takes the city and township's concerns into consideration.
Frost said that at the lunch meeting, the fire chiefs discussed emergency medical services and the differences in how each approaches them. He said he thinks there will be more talks, but it all depends on what the trustees want.
Canfield's position
Paul Moracco, chairman of the Cardinal fire district and a Canfield trustee, said that at this point, he believes Canfield is "so far ahead" in EMT services than the other two. "I don't know what we'd gain," he said, adding that the new organization would have to meet the same standards Canfield does.
He said, though, that "the ball is in all three of our courts," and that input from the fire chiefs is critical.
Reese, reached again Monday, said that based on what he's been told, he still doesn't believe there's much interest in pursuing regionalization.
"I won't say it's completely over," he said. But, he said, he believes it would be difficult to meet Canfield's standards. "We're exceptionally high."
Still, Reese said, if the other trustees called him to another meeting, he would go. No new meetings have been set.