Alternative Sources of Funding in the Fire Service During Difficult Economic Times - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Problem ment 3 Literature Review: Wide range of funding strategies 3 Objectives 8 Research methodology 9 Population and sample 9 Research Design 10 Data collection 11 Planned method of analysis 11 Time Schedule 12 Required Resources 13 Budget 13 References 14 Problem Statement They always fight against fire; now it is time to fight against the recession. This comment aptly suits the fire service department of the US. The idea of fighting the blaze with a handful of workforce is not quite desirable by the fire fighters. However during the recession period, organisations prefer the public safety sector so as to cut down their expenses in order to survive the recession (Feick, 2010). The fire fighter use outdated equipments which are worn out and have outlived their asset lives. Using such inept tools often threatens to jeopardise the life of general public. Recession often ensues firing people or cutting on equipment costs but it does not work out for the fire service department. Hence it is better to fight the turmoil with the alternative strategies of funding. Literature Review: Wide range of funding strategies Limited by a stipulated budget, the fire department in the United States are trying to capitalise on a wide range of fund raising approaches beyond the conventional methods (US Fire Administration, n.d.). The fund raising strategies can vary from small fees to large sources of fund as benefit assessments. Sometimes these major funding sources pay off as much as 40 percent of the service budget. Development fees and subscription charges are two of its major alternative funding strategies. These are the fees which the private investors pay for constructing a new fire stations and buying related apparatus. Subscription charges are paid by the households and are a part of the emergency medical services availed by them (US Fire Administration, n.d.). However it has become very difficult to fund these activities as public support is quite less in these cases. (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Some fire divisions have suggested, keeping these fees specific for small house hold fires. According to them, an additional service charge must be paid for dealing with the emergency services. Few fire departments, though aware of the fact that the housing insurance policies do cover up a few thousand dollars for fire protection fees, would still like to charge for fire prevention services. Some other departments charge almost for everything, starting from simple services to the special emergency ones (US Fire Administration, n.d.). The payment can be in two ways; either by subscription fee or by service fees for each of the services. The major source of funding comes from the emergency incidents. Some services which were free earlier are charged these days. Some local funding strategy include tax revenue, borrowing, leasing, benefit assessment charges, fees, strategic alliances, cost sharing and consolidations, fines and citations, sales of assets and services, subscriptions and impact development fees (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Apart from these there are more miscellaneous funding strategies available for the fire service departments to support funding. General state revenues can be another way of supporting the funding of the local fire services. Many states have a policy which offers a part of their taxes to support the local fire services, more specifically the rural and volunteer fire agencies which are in most need of funding. The various local funding strategies are articulated below (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Taxes would include local income taxes, housing taxes and general sales taxes. Apart from these, there are the transient taxes and other taxes especially for the fire service. Borrowing is another way to fund the equipments and facilities. The contracts with which the capital equipments are purchased are known a ‘certificate of participation’ (US Fire Administration, n.d.). These are like the mortgages used to buy the capital assets. These are mostly used when the companies are not allowed to use the traditional debt instruments. Apart from purchasing the assets, the fire service departments can go for leasing the required equipments to avoid the large capital outflow. In this sector this leasing often comes with the right to purchase at end (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Fees are one of the major sources of funding not only for the new constructions but also for the special hazardous incidents and for other inspections. Apart from that fees are charged for activities like pumping water or rescuing a hiker. In simple words, the fire service charges fees for a number of activities, virtually for everything (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Among them the most philanthropic one is the fees for the emergency medical services including the transport and medical care. Benefit assessment charges are the fees accumulated for construction and other administrative works related to the fire stations. Fees are also collected from those agencies willing to form an alliance with the fire departments. These strategic alliances are done for fire protection and emergency medical services (US Fire Administration, n.d.). The fees are charged mostly for providing training to the students. These can take place through the annual contracts and through the fees per usage. These agreements are beneficial for both the fire service departments and the agencies (US Fire Administration, n.d.). To enhance funding and reducing the cost, many fire and emergency medical departments are coming together to facilitate the funding for new apparatus which would lessen the burden on each of the service departments. Some departments are consolidating so as to cut on costs and improve the service provided for public safety. Another source of funding for the fire service department would be the fines collected from the households and companies for non-compliance with the laws and codes related to the fire prevention facilities (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Sometimes fire service departments finance activities like purchasing new equipments by selling off some old equipment. This is done mostly to meet the need of significant revenue requirements. Subscription charges are one of the major revenue sources for the fire service departments. These charges are mostly used for emergency medical services. This could be set as insurance which entitles the fire service department to get a fixed fee from the households every year. By providing this, the households are exempted from further fees for the emergency medical services or the transport (US Fire Administration, n.d.). The major difference in this case is apart from this subscription fees the fire service administration is not supposed to get any added fees or charges; although the local agency can charge the households and organizations. For the new developments of fire station and other facilities, fees are required for the capital expenditures on the fire stations and full facility of apparatus. The new developmental construction of the existing fire station would come under these Impact development fees (US Fire Administration, n.d.). There are many other such approaches which can be considered and reviewed to fund the activities for fire and emergency medical services. Fire Insurance surcharges are such kind of fees which are mostly the fraction of the premiums paid for the fire and emergency services. The agencies however do not tap these surplus charges and get access to it through government programs (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Vehicle and transportation sometimes have to pay fees for the emergency medical services, mostly provided for the road and traffic accidents. Many states offer services in lieu of agencies to provide the training and technical assistance programs to the fire fighters (US Fire Administration, n.d.). There are many programs available to the federal agencies. Although some of the programs are not intended specifically for fire or emergency medical service yet they can avail such programs (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Fire service departments can reconsider its mode of operation in other states and can seek the same from their state governments. However one must take into account that the demand must be palatable for the governments. The tax payers who pay for the fire service departments may be affected in a different way (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Many fire service organizations prefer to accept donations from the private investors (Fire Chief, 2009).This makes it possible for some of the fire service departments to establish itself as a non profitable organizations. Some communities have built up foundation whose funds can be used for the safety of the people living in the community (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Sometimes organizations accept donations not only from the investors but also from the local and national organizations. These organizations could be the companies doing business in the related area or the companies which volunteer for the well being of the community (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Many fire service departments enter private public partnership to consolidate themselves. This partnership helps the departments to share the benefits and trade off the cost associated. Apart from all these methods discussed above, fire service departments across US use a number of innovative ways to raise fund for their asset and activity requirements (US Fire Administration, n.d.). A number of volunteer departments participate in these kinds of funding activities to support their organizations. One of these methods could be seeking direct solicitation, either by reaching the households or companies directly or through mails (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Sometimes the fire service organizations arrange certain events like carnivals, dinner and sporting events to promote and accelerate the fund raising activities of their organizations. Even these organizations can sell products like photos or calendars as well as can provide services to generate more funds for the organizations (US Fire Administration, n.d.). A proper documentation must be done while sending a funding request to the government and the organizations (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Recent economic downturn has compelled the fire service departments to size their budget. It has even forced the government to cut the expenses kept apart for the fire and emergency medical services; at a time when there is an increasing rate of concern for public safety. The fire service departments would like to introduce a new array of enhanced services towards the public safety; but due to the funding shortage they may not be able to do the same. The fire service departments must have an idea about the alternative funding strategies available which would help them to fetch money, even in the time of financial downturn. It is quite necessary from the public safety point of view. The fire service and emergency medical service departments must be aware of other possibilities, not only the theoretical approaches but also the practical ones which can be executed in the near future. Just introducing a new idea is not enough, implementing the same with a clear insight of the pros and cons of the concepts will go a long way to make it successful. (US Fire Administration, n.d.). Objectives The objective of this research is to find out the alternative funding strategies of Fire Service Department in the economic downturn. Another objective is to look for some other prospective strategies the fire service department can take to enhance their funds in the troubled times. Research methodology The main part of the research would be on the basis of secondary research. The books, journals and news articles would be of great help in this research procedure. Apart from the online articles from internet, the articles published by United States Fire Administration would also be supportive in this task. However a part of the research methodology would also contain a little bit of primary research. In that, the fire service personnel would be asked on what are the different funding strategies they would like to explore to enhance the funds of their departments. Responses would be taken from the households on what is their preferred way of paying to fire departments; subscription charges or the fees for each of the incidents. This is very important, as the funding strategies would be decided by the fire service authorities; but they can achieve the desired result only after attaining support from the public. Strategies can go for a toss with public objections. Population and sample The sample taken for the primary research would be the personnel from fire service departments. In most of the times it is better to have random based sampling, as there can not be any iota of individual biasness. Around fifteen people from different local and national fire service authorities would be taken as the sample for this research. Although the samples would be selected on a random basis, still the accessibility of the respondents will be a significant factor while doing the primary research. At the same time fifteen households would be taken as a sample of the common public. In this case too the sample would be chosen randomly; but one point would be taken care of that the respondents must be the people who are responsible for the payment of the tax and other fire service fees in their respective households. Research Design The research would start with the specification of the problem statement. It would be the statement which has prompted to take this area as the research subject. The main problem areas here would highlight the present state of the fire service department in the recent financial turmoil and what were the effects of the same. Review of the related literature would be of great help to have an insight of the studies done in this area. It would aim to review the current funding status of the fire service departments. The literature review would try to explore the strategies of the fire service departments to fund their activities. The objective of the research would specify the aim of this research paper. Research methodology would be based on the primary and secondary research procedures. The choice of sample and the process of data collection are quite important as these should not contain any individual bias. After deciding on each of the activities it is very much important to create a time schedule for the implementation of each one of them. The estimated expenses which could be incurred while going through the research activities are put in the budget estimation. After all the resources and responses are collected, the analysis part would be carried out. The analysis would be primarily based on the fact and figures accumulated from the different sources. Adding to it, the views of the fire service personnel and the common people would also be analyzed to reach at certain preferable ways to finance the fund of the fire service departments. In the end, with the help of the analysis from the primary and secondary research work, the recommendations would be given for the different funding strategies of the fire service department. The conclusion would then be based on the different research activities that are going to be carried out during the respective research. Data collection Collection of data is one of the most significant activities in any research work. The collection of data must be predisposed to arrive at an unbiased conclusion after carrying out the research activities. The data would be collected mainly from the books and various reports published by the United State Fire Service Administration and other fire service departments. Various journals that are published from well developed databases can be of particular help to collect required information. News articles and other online articles can also be used to collect the current information on the fire service department. Apart from that talking to the fire service personnel can give an insight into the funding strategies of the service department. The responses of the service personnel, the common household people and people from the organizations would be collected through small questionnaires, mostly objective ones. During the collection of data, it would be taken into account that the errors are minimized as much as possible and the data must not reflect any type of predisposed ideas of the researcher. Planned method of analysis The analysis is the predominant part of the research procedure. It must be carried out without any prejudice of the researcher. In this research, the analysis would be mostly based on the facts and figures accumulated from the various reports, books and journals, mostly published by the fire departments of US. At first, analysis of their present strategies would provide an insight into the wide range of strategies already available with the fire service department to fund their activities. Interacting with the personnel would provide a much better insight into the strategies. In the later part of the analysis the prospective of other funding strategies would be discussed. These strategies would be in alignment with the responses from the personnel and the common household people to negate the concern about the fact that whether the household and companies would welcome the strategies and pay more for public safety. At last the investment opportunities of the fire service department would be explored to find out the right strategy in the time of financial downturn. The analysis would take into account the view points from the fire service department as well as from the households and the companies and would try to find out strategies in compliance with the views from both sides. However the utmost concern would be to find out the right strategies to finance the funds of the fire service department. Time Schedule A time schedule is a matter of significance in the research activities. A properly developed time schedule is necessary to keep a track of the time taken by each of the individual activities; so that if required necessary adjustments can be done. The following table comprises the estimated time limits for each of the research activities. Date Time Period Activities 07/03/2010 4 days To accomplish the review of literature related to the funding strategy of the fire service departments. 11/03/2010 3 days To collect the responses from the fire service personnel. 14/03/2010 5 days To collect the responses from the households and the organizations. 19/03/2010 8 days To collect the information available in the reports, books, journals and various news articles. To collect market data on different market securities. 25/03/2010 10 days To apprehend the data collected, analyze the same and reach at the conclusion. To articulate the research report in proper manner. The above mentioned activities would take a total of 30 days to accomplish the respective research report. It is advisable to stick to the time limit to make sure that the time taken does not exceed the pre-specified time limit; but at the same time it is an estimated one. So, it is quite obvious that this can change as per the requirement of the research project; however efforts would be taken not to exceed the estimated time limits stipulated for each of the research activities. Required Resources Accomplishing a research project requires a number of valuable and useful resources to get information from. Likewise, this project would require a number of books, reports, journals and news articles on fire service department. Before looking out for alternative funding strategies it would be very much important to accumulate all the information which would provide an insight of the fees and charges of fire service departments as well as into its funding strategies to finance their fire fighting activities. The reports and journals on the funding strategy of the fire service department of other countries can provide some way out to the alternative strategies. The fire service department can also look for investing some of their money in the market to enhance their cash flows. However in the recession time, most of the market securities incur losses. So it needs a lot of research to look out for an investment strategy which would fetch the fire service department maximum return at a minimum risk level. The resource in this case would be various reports written by esteemed financial and market analysts and the financial sites which provide market data on various securities. For this it would be very much important to get access to the various resourceful databases providing financial and journal information. Budget To carry out the research activities, it is also important to estimate the cost related to each of the activities. Research Activities Costs Transportation Cost for collecting the primary data from the personnel of US fire departments, the household consumers and the respective people from the organizations. $70 Various resourceful books and reports $ 120 To get access to the various financial and journal databases $ 75 It would cost $ 265 to carry on the primary research, buy books and to get access to various financial and journal databases. The transportation cost would be incurred while going to the local and fire department offices, the households in different localities and to the companies having the fire service departments. To meet the information requirement for the research it is quite important to get access to various books and reports which are based on the funding strategy of the fire service department and the investment strategies in the time of financial downturn. Some books and reports would be collected from the library; however it might be needed to buy some vital books and reports which would cost around $ 120. Various databases containing financial data and relevant journals are also important from the research point of view. Some of these allow only paid access. The cost has been estimated as $ 75. Care would be taken not to exceed the estimated budget limit; although the estimation can change as per the project requirements. References Feick, J. (2010). Flint mayor says police, fire layoff notices are being sent. Retrieved March 06, 2010 from http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7287168 . Fire Chief. (2009).ActGlobal. Retrieved March 06, 2010 from http://firechief.com/leadership/management-administration/fire-relief-mission-surviving-recession-200908/ . United States Fire Administration. (No Date). Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services. USA: FEMA. Bibliography Barr, R. & Eversole, J. (2003). The fire chiefs handbook. USA:PennWell Corporation. Smeby, C., L. (2006). Fire and emergency service administration. USA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Read More