It's budget time, and the fire chief of a small volunteer fire department in rural America is trying to figure out how to manage the $10,000 the town gives the department to operate.

The chief has a 1978 pumper, a 1986 pumper and a 1968 milk truck used as a tanker. The department has 16 members and eight sets of 15-year-old turnout gear that is worn and patched. It has four hand-me-down SCBA, for which no replacement parts are available in the event of breakdown.

This situation is not unusual in the fire service. Large and small volunteer, career and combination departments are all facing budget problems. Granted, we aren't in the best of economic times, but let's face it: When budgets are determined, the fire department is not on the top of the list. For example, a chief recently said that state and local financial constraints have affected his department greatly and that the loss of these monies has touched everyone, but the fire department has taken the brunt of the budget cuts. Another chief told me his department is in competition with other town and township entities for tax dollars used to fund normal operating expenses. His department is forced to hold fund-raisers and seek donations to afford firefighter safety items.

These chiefs recently have applied for FIRE Grants, which have allowed many fire departments in this country to keep their heads above water. Yet these grants are being cut and are in jeopardy each year.

Why is the fire department generally the last to be considered in budget appropriations on the national, state and local level? This is a question that every fire chief in the nation needs to seriously think about and research. What do other agencies that provide services to the same communities we serve do to achieve budget priority over the fire department? If these other agencies aren't given essential equipment, do employees have fund-raisers to get it? Yet volunteer and combination fire departments are notorious for taking valuable training time away from their members to do just that. Look at it from the point of view of the funding agency: Why give the fire department the money for a project or a piece of equipment if they are going to get it anyway through a fund-raiser?

Recently in a leadership training class, a group of fire chiefs was engaging in group exercises when the following scenario was given: You, a fire chief in a growing community, were just told that your budget is to be cut 10%, and there is no way this can be changed. The chiefs went into a mode that they were too comfortable with, and they very creatively came up with various ways of dealing with the budget cut. None of these suggestions had a bearing on a reduction of service. The department will do more for less. This is not an unusual response from fire chiefs facing such a scenario.

The fire department budget situation and its reaction to such treatment by federal, state and local budget officials has become part of the culture of the fire service — and is a result of the culture of the fire service. The fire service is so accustomed to dealing with budget cuts that it now has become part of the job. The fire service is also a reactive organization because the main thrust of the job is mitigation. This reactivity has become deeply ingrained in our culture. This needs to be changed if the fire department needs aren't to be the last ones to be considered in budget allocations. Fire departments nationwide must become proactive if we are going to receive a higher budget priority. We need to become much more political, but not partisan.

Fire administrators must become well-informed about proposed local, state and federal legislation as well as other issues that affect the fire service. They must take active part in the democratic process and speak up on issues that affect the fire service. You do this by notifying legislators about the fire service's point of view on these issues through letters, fax, e-mails and — best of all — personal contact.

Fire chiefs must take an active part in the International Association of Fire Chiefs, state chiefs organizations as well local fire service organizations. Active part does not only mean having a membership card and paying dues, but also attending meetings and participating on committees. We can no longer afford to sit back and react to legislation and appropriations. The fire service must become an active player in the process. Fire service organizations must make a great effort to communicate with each other to create a unified voice.

On a local level, fire departments must make public relations a priority item. Does the public know what you do? Do they know how much training you do? What do they think firefighters do when they are not actively fighting fires? Does the public know what it takes to run a fire department? For that matter, do the people in charge of your budget appropriations know the answers to these questions?

Are you a department that hides behind the doors of the fire station? Do you have an open-door policy with the public and town or city officials? Do you make it a point to get out into the community with your apparatus as often as possible? Is fire prevention and fire education a priority?

The more the public and town or city officials know about your department and the more visible the department becomes, the easier it will be to climb the priority budget ladder.

Accurate fire department planning and assessments, as well as open and honest discussions with the authority having jurisdiction, are another key to obtaining budget priority. The community's master plan should be understood. Fire departments should make an effort to perform a complete and accurate needs assessment. From this needs assessment and understanding of the community's master plan, a meaningful strategic plan can be developed.

Another essential element of planning is the completion of a detailed standard of response cover document. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International defines a standard of response cover document as “written policies and procedures that establish the distribution and concentration of fixed and mobile resources of an organization.” This document describes the deployment or “coverage” for a given community or area. It's a system that includes an analysis of risks and expectations to assist in making decisions on deployment issues.

This document, based on an accurate needs assessment and detailed strategic plan, can then give the authority having jurisdiction a clear picture of exactly what services the fire department can realistically provide in a safe fashion with the budget provided. After this documentation is presented, the responsibility of establishing the level of service that is to be provided by fire department is now not in the control of the fire chief but becomes the decision of the authority having jurisdiction.

Fire departments like the ones mentioned in the beginning of this article are common. Most fire departments and training academies across the country can relate to similar budget situations. It's time for the fire service as a whole to take a good look at itself and ask why it is last in the budget line. Then take a good introspective look at the way we have been operating administratively and adopt a proactive stance.

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Chief Mike Chiaramonte is a 35-year member of the Lynbrook (N.Y.) Fire Department and a past chief of the department. He's currently the chief fire inspector, where he's responsible for code enforcement and prevention education. Chiaramonte was a past chairman and board member of the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Board and New York State Director to the IAFC Eastern Division. He's also a National Fire Academy Instructor and an adviser to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Chiaramonte is a state EMT-CC and an instructor at the Nassau County EMS Academy. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and a master's degree from Hofstra University, both in communications education.