LYMAN — The details and financial commitment for a plan that would increase staffing at the Goodwin Mills Fire Department was unveiled at a public hearing Tuesday night, to mixed reaction.

An advisory committee has been working for about a year on a plan that would make the Goodwin Mills Fire Department a municipal department and increase staff.

The department is currently a non-profit corporation, and the change would allow the department greater access to grants and give voters more control on how the money is spent in the department.

Currently, the department has two full-time firefighters and a volunteer chief.

Over the years, as the population has grown, the needs of the department have increased and volunteers have decreased, according to the fire department.

George Sutton, chairman of the advisory committee, shared data from the committee’s study, which showed that in 1975, the department received about 50 calls a year. In 2005, that number jumped to 600. In 2001, the department had 65 volunteers, in 2008, it had less than 50.

“Society’s changing. No one has time to volunteer anymore,” said Sutton.

Becoming a volunteer firefighter requires a strong commitment and many hours of training, said Sutton.

The department is now staffed 90 hours a week. The committee developed a plan that would eventually increase staffing to 419 hours a week and would implement a compensation system for volunteers.

Sutton said the committee had originally looked at a five-year plan, but decided in the current economy that might not be a reality. Instead, they are looking at “a long range” plan.

“We can implement it as the people in the towns see fit,” said Sutton.

The committee is asking residents to consider the first two stages of the plan this year, which would increase the staffing hours to 206 hours a week.

The proposal calls for residents in the two towns to vote on a referendum on June 8 for an agreement that would completely transfer the assets from the Goodwin Mills Fire Department to the towns. This vote would also approve $12,000 from the Town of Dayton and $18,000 from the Town of Lyman to cover any costs of this transaction.

The proposal then calls for the towns to vote at town meetings later that week to allow the towns to hire a full-time chief and a full time fire fighter. This would require $43,400 from the town of Dayton and $65,100 from the town of Lyman to cover the initial costs for the two employees: Ten months of a fire chief’s salary and six months for a firefighter’s salary and increase the hours of full- time staff.

This would increase the staffing from 8 hours a day five days a week to 11 hours a day seven days a week.

The two proposals would increase taxes $66 a year on a $200,000 home in Dayton and $30 a year for a $200,000 home in Lyman.

With more staff, committee members say that there will be better able to get to calls in a timely fashion, say committee members. Currently, only about a quarter of the calls are being responded to in less than five minutes.

Critical times when there is a lack of coverage is 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., say officials.

Currently, the department is the only one in the area to have “virtually no compensation” for its volunteers, and it is the only fire department in York County with more than 5,000 people and no evening or overnight coverage, said Sutton.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re trying to get up to speed,” said Sutton.

The financial management responsibilities of the department would be taken care of by the Town of Lyman, as they have a full-time treasurer, said Sutton.

Under the plan, a fire commission would oversee the department and report to the two boards of selectmen. The committee would consist of five people, two from each town, and a fifth person alternating each year from the two towns.

A funding formula for the fire department will be developed to assure that each towns pays a fair and equitable amount, said Sutton.

The fire department needs two people on duty to respond to a call. If the department were to send one person on a call, they would become overwhelmed and may perform unsafe tasks to pursue the rescue, said Fire Chief Rodney Carpenter.

“We’re not going to trade our lives for your lives,” he said.

Sutton said that even with the increase of staff hours, they still won’t be up to par with other communities.

“We’re still going to be behind the eight ball,” he said.

Chad Johnston, a fire department representative on the committee, said that the plan is not the “ultimate fix-all program.”

“This program is just enough to plug some holes,” he said. “We’re still going to be behind the curve for years to come.”

Lyman resident Mary Daigle said that she didn’t think it was good timing for the proposal. She said that there are many people in the current economy who can’t pay their taxes, especially with county taxes and the cost of schools rising.

“I’d vote for it, but not now,” she said.

The committee will also present the plan at a public hearing on Thursday at the Dayton Municipal building Thursday at 7 p.m.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.