Guest opinion

Vote May 2

The Fire District Trustee elections will be held May 2. It is important for you to be informed about the position and responsibilities of the fire department trustees and a need for a change in the representation of the voters. Presently there are five trustees, four of whom are fire department members and one community member not a member of the department.

I am presently a trustee of the Bigfork District and I made the decision to vacate my position and to promote two members within our community that are not department members to run for the two vacant positions. The term for a trustee is for three years. I became a trustee for the following reasons: I wanted to learn more about the financial operations of our fire department and business management of the department, and I wanted a role and voice in planning the merger of the fire department and the Bigfork QRU/Ambulance, which did occur last year.

I have been a volunteer emergency care provider with the QRU and one of the founding members of the QRU and ambulance. It has been obvious to me, and others, that the role and operation of the service provided by community volunteers for emergency medical services was becoming increasingly difficult for the volunteers due to increased call volume and lack of daytime man power to respond to calls. A merger was necessary for assisting in the medical response team of the volunteers. The fire department has a medical division and fire division and presently the medical division does not receive financial assistance from the fire district revenue.

The elected Trustees of the Bigfork Fire & Ambulance determined it was necessary to employ part-time and fulltime personnel for the daytime emergency response for our community, the maintenance and operation of equipment, education and training, and the day-to-day business operation. Volunteers still cover nights and weekend emergency medical calls. The five member trustees and members within the department had a role in the decision. The decision was correct and necessary to meet the demands of the community with a level of medical care we have provided in the past.

I am not seeking a second term for district trustee to allow the new candidates, Mr. Lee Leivo and Mr. Zack Anderson, to fill the two vacant positions. This would provide a District Trustee membership of three members from within the community not on the fire department or medical roster, and two members within the department.

My concern is for the future of the department and the outstanding reputation of the fire department and QRU/Ambulance. We need strong leadership to help develop the goals of the future of Bigfork Fire and Ambulance. One of the responsibilities of the trustees is having the duty to determine wages and benefits for the employees. It seems logical that a majority of the trustees should be non-department personnel when making the decisions regarding salary and benefit policies.

There are presently four candidates for the two positions. All of the candidates are dedicated community volunteers and trustworthy for the position. However, I would like to see a change in the balance of trustees with non-department personnel holding a majority of the trustee positions.

I am casting my vote for Leland Leivo and Zack Anderson for the position of Trustees for the Bigfork Fire District. Both men have experience with budgets, personnel and day-to-day operation of a business. I believe both are capable and sincere in their desire to volunteer their time for our community. Please make the right choice for our community.

Doug Smith

Trustee and Volunteer Paramedic

Bigfork Fire District