Before asking taxpayers for more, show them the results
To the editor:
Every year, the Cape Coral City Council is asked to approve millions of dollars in additional spending. Those requests are usually accompanied by presentations explaining why the money is needed.
But one question is rarely asked with equal rigor:
What measurable results did taxpayers receive from the last round of investments?
That question led me to spend the past few weeks reviewing Cape Coral’s published financial and operational data for the Fire Department.
I originally began looking into this after candidates endorsed by the Fire Department union — and the union’s president — told me the data supported additional Fire Department funding.
I asked to see that data.
I never received it.
Rather than debate opinions, I decided to assemble the data myself.
Over the past few weeks, I assembled and analyzed the city’s and Fire Department’s published financial and operational data for every fiscal year from 2019 through today-including budgets, staffing, calls for service, response times, Fire Service Assessment funding, ISO documentation, technology investments, and other publicly available reports.
What I found painted a much broader picture than the annual budget discussions most residents ever see.
Over the past several years, Cape Coral taxpayers have invested heavily in the Fire Department, making it one of the City’s largest long-term investments outside of the Utility Expansion Project (UEP).
Operating budgets have grown dramatically.
Staffing has increased.
Two new fire stations have opened.
The city implemented the Hexagon HxGN OnCall dispatch and records system.
New apparatus, equipment, and infrastructure have been added.
The department achieved its long-term goal of earning an ISO Class 2 rating, reflecting years of investment in personnel, training, equipment, communications, and water supply.
Compensation also appears competitive with comparable agencies.
None of those investments should be viewed as inherently good or bad. Many may have been necessary. They may represent a department catching up after years of rapid population growth.
But I also found that Fire spending has increased much faster than population growth, inflation, and the city’s overall budget. During the same period, calls for service remained relatively flat, and the Fire Department’s published response-time data did not show measurable improvement.
Those findings do not lead me to conclude that the Fire Department’s budget should be reduced.
They lead me to a different conclusion.
Before city leadership asks taxpayers to fund another Fire Department budget increase — as they are doing again this year — Fire Department leadership should demonstrate the measurable results of the investments already made.
Throughout my career, significant budget requests required more than good intentions. Leaders were expected to explain why additional funding was needed, what outcomes were expected, and how success would be measured. Previous investments were reviewed before new ones were approved.
I believe taxpayers should expect the same standard from local government.
Before approving another major Fire Department budget increase, City Council should ask two simple questions:
Have the investments we’ve already approved produced measurable improvements?
What measurable improvements can taxpayers reasonably expect from the next budget increase?
Those are the same questions I would ask of any department requesting a significant budget increase.
Those same questions should also be answered by every candidate seeking public office. Candidates who support additional Fire Department funding — and especially those endorsed by the Fire Department union — should be able to explain why they support additional spending and how taxpayers should measure its success.
Ultimately, this letter isn’t really about the Fire Department.
It’s about how government makes spending decisions.
Every major budget request should be supported by careful analysis, measurable objectives, and accountability for previous investments.
The people paying those bills aren’t anonymous revenue sources.
They’re the retiree living on a fixed income.
They’re the single parent trying to stretch a paycheck.
They’re the young family buying their first home.
They’re the small business owner struggling to make payroll.
Every dollar government spends first has to be earned by someone.
Because every taxpayer matters.
Wes Owen
Cape Coral