In addition to looking for a new chief for the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Department, the authority that governs the department is now looking for a new treasurer as well.

Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority board treasurer Catherine L. Herman announced last week that she will step down from her post on April 8 following the regular annual audit of the department’s financial books, which begins March 31.

Herman has held the volunteer position for the past seven years and said she was stepping down for “personal and family” reasons.

Herman is elected treasurer of Suttons Bay Township and has served in the additional capacity as an appointed township representative on the five-member Fire and Rescue Authority Board since its establishment in 2006.

Previously, the department was overseen by an administrative board on which Herman served as treasurer. In addition to helping oversee the renovation and expansion of the main fire hall in the Village of Suttons Bay, she helped establish the new Fire and Rescue Authority and played a key role in the adoption of the extra-voted millages now supporting the Fire and Rescue Department.

Suttons Bay Township supervisor Rich Bahle, who serves as president of the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority, said Suttons Bay Township would solicit applications from residents willing to replace Herman as a township representative on the authority board.

The Suttons Bay Township representative does not necessarily serve as treasurer of the board, however.

According to bylaws, the Fire and Rescue Authority board elects its own officers from those appointed to the board. Other members of the board include Bingham Township Board trustee Mary Bush, Bingham Township representative Robert W. Foster, and member-at-large Harry Wiberg of Bingham Township.

Herman presented her letter of resignation at the Fire and Rescue Authority board meeting on March 11 and the Suttons Bay Township Board meeting on March 12. Both boards accepted her resignation “with regret.”

At the March 11, Fire and Rescue Authority board meeting, members also discussed progress on finding a replacement for longtime department chief Bill Calhoun, discussed an annual Response Report for 2007, and adopted an operational budget for fiscal 2008-09.

A committee has been at work since last year to determine requirements for the fire chief’s position, and expects to present a set of recommendations in the coming months. Calhoun has announced that he plans to retire later this year.

The fire authority board last week also reviewed and adopted a $959,340 spending plan for the coming fiscal year based on $994,050 in anticipated revenue. Overall, the department’s operational budget is increasing 1.23-percent from last year.

Most of the department’s funding comes from property tax collections in Bingham and Suttons Bay Townships. In the coming fiscal year, the department expects to receive $372,000 in taxes from Bingham Township and $482,850 from Suttons Bay Township. An additional $139,200 in revenues come mostly from reimbursements for ambulance runs.

Also at last week’s meeting, department administrator Gary McGhee presented an annual Response Report. The report states that the department received a total of 636 requests for service during calendar year 2007.

“This was 64 fewer requests than calendar year 2006 and represents an overall 9.14 percent decrease in requests for service,” according to the report. Of the 636 total requests for service, 449 (or 70.6 percent) involved only the department’s emergency medical service (EMS) units. There were 153 combined fire and EMS requests, representing 24.1 percent of the total; and 34 requests for fire service only, representing 5.3 percent of the total requests.
Bahle noted that the lower number of responses reflected in this year’s report could be attributed primarily by a decision by Leland Township to end its contract with Suttons Bay-Bingham for Advanced Life Support ambulance service in favor of a contract with Northflight Emergency Medical Services.

Of the 636 total requests for service, 362 were in Suttons Bay Township including 139 in the Village of Suttons Bay, 100 in Peshawbestown and 123 elsewhere in Suttons Bay Township. There were 120 requests for service in Bingham Township. The department also responded to requests in neighboring townships including 113 in Leelanau Township with which Suttons Bay-Bingham has a contract. An additional 29 requests for service came from Leland, five from Solon-Centerville, five from Elmwood and two from “other,” according to the report.