JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Representatives from Matrix Consulting Group, the Berlin Fire Company and Berlin Town Council will be present during a public meeting about the recently released fire company study on Tuesday at Berlin Intermediate School.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 31, 2018) The 90-page study on the Berlin Fire Company performed independently by the Matrix Consulting Group was released last month by the Town of Berlin, which commissioned the analysis to guide it with handling future funding requests from the company.

On Tuesday, June 5 representatives from Matrix will present and discuss the findings during an open meeting at Berlin Intermediate School on 309 Franklin Avenue starting at 6:30 p.m.

Mayor Gee Williams said it is difficult to gauge potential attendance at the meeting.

“We’d rather have too much space than not enough,” he said. “I assume that people who have regularly been following the funding issues with the fire company probably at least looked at or maybe fully read the 90-page report that we have on our website, but for a lot of people that’s a lot of material to process in one take.

“Also, some people are more audio learners than visual learners, in terms of the way they process information, so we thought that having someone that was literally involved in the study give a presentation would hopefully add clarification and maybe be able to boil down some of the many, many details into things that are more easily understood,” Williams added.

In addition, he said members of the audience would be free to ask questions.

“The idea is, I think, most of town and the fire company want to be very transparent,” Williams said. “We want people to know what the report says and then, working together, our goal is to implement all of the recommendations within a year.

“That’s our goal as the mayor and council. We’ll proceed and give it our best shot,” he continued. “But I think it always starts with letting the public know why we’re doing this.”

Councilman Thom Gulyas called the meeting “a huge importance for people to come in and know what’s going on.”

“These are your tax dollars,” he said. “We would love to hear their input and we want to know what you guys would like us to do, so definitely show up on June 5 and at least come listen.”

For those who cannot attend, Gulyas urged citizens to take their questions and concerns to their council representatives.

“We’ll be more than happy to be the mouthpiece – that’s our job,” he said. “But I definitely want more involvement from the town. They live here. This impacts them square in the face so, please, be there.”

Berlin Fire Company President David Fitzgerald said he would also attend and would “look forward to answering any questions the public may have.”

“We have always encouraged the public to ask us questions relating to our operations and funding,” he said. “As the funding study has confirmed, we are underfunded by the town for the services we provide, especially for emergency medical services.

“Volunteers still save the county and town taxpayers money by donating their time. However, the demand for emergency medical services requires paid staff,” he continued. “The budget for that alone is over $1 million.”

Fitzgerald said more than 50 percent of the EMS calls to the fire company come from within town limits.

“The town continues to prosper, which is good, but it puts increased demand on all services,” he said.

To read the full text of the Matrix report, visit www.berlinmd.gov/berlin-fire-company-report-released.

For Mayor and Council contact information, visit www.berlinmd.gov/maryland-government/elected-officials.