A. In the event you were not aware, the Chatham County Commission voted to fully fund Chatham Fire Department operations. As such, your paid subscription was eligible for a prorated refund. The amount of the check is the balance owed back as of as of July 1, 2022. Going forward, fire department funding will be invoiced and collected by Chatham County. Rest assured that you are fully protected in the event of a fire and no action is needed on your part from Chatham Fire.

A. Chatham Fire cannot speak directly regarding the county billing process. However, the county has indicated that bills will arrive through the mail any time between July 1 – September 30, 2022.

A. Chatham Fire cannot speak for the county fee calculation. However, the county has indicated that bills will be based on the square footage of improved property, which includes all structures that could catch fire and burn and a flat fee for land. Specific information can be obtained on the county informational webpage at www.chathamcountyga.gov/OurCounty/FireServices

A. Non-payment of the annual fire subscription fee by approximately 1/3 of property owners in unincorporated Chatham County created a revenue challenge for Chatham Fire. Several years ago, CES approached the county about the escalating deficit and after many town hall meetings and a community survey, the commissioners voted on this as the best option to assure fire protection for unincorporated areas.

A. The county collection date was effective July 1, 2022. All paid subscriptions with balances after July 1, 2022 are eligible for a prorated refund from CES based on the July 1 date. Properties that have no balance owed were not eligible for a refund.

A. Yes, everyone in Chatham Fire’s service area is covered and you do not need to worry about any large bill if the fire department is called to your house/business.

A. At this time Chatham County is reviewing various methodologies to be effective on the summer 2022 property assessment notices.

A. Some HOAs have included fire protection for their residents.  However, you need to contact your HOA specifically regarding the future change.

A. As Chatham County is fully funding the fire department, there are no more individual subscriptions, nor is “Proof of Fire Protection” needed.  Please have your agent call us and we will be happy to update them on these changes.  Our business office number is 912-354-1011.

A. Please see their website at www.chathames.org or email info@chathames.org

A. Records date back to the 1930s, but incorporation occurred in August 1961. Over 60 years, CES has grown to become a $30M not-for-profit corporation with more than 400 personnel.

A. CES is a non-profit organization that was chartered solely to serve the community of unincorporated Chatham County as fire protection was not available from the government.  CES operates 14 Fire Stations in unincorporated Chatham County.

A. Over the last 2.5 years, CES has been in open discussion with Chatham County and the community regarding the lack of an equitable funding mechanism. Simply, fire services in unincorporated Chatham County were being funded only by those citizens who voluntarily paid their fire subscription. The cost to provide fire services was exceeding the income generated by subscriptions.

A. Yes. Town Halls were hosted by County Commissioners in each District. Public workshops were hosted and the issue was discussed and debated several times during scheduled County Commission meetings.

A. Yes. CES publishes all tax filings on their website.  CES has successfully completed two audits by the Chatham County Government audit team. CES also successfully completed a full on-site Internal Revenue Service Audit within the last four years.

A. Yes. The financials are audited annually by an independent CPA Firm and are monitored closely (each month) by the non-compensated, Volunteer Board members. Three of those Board members are appointed by the Chatham County Commission.

A. No. All Board members volunteer to serve as Directors, have no financial interest in the organization whatsoever, and receive no compensation.  Board members, volunteers and employees all pay for their own fire protection. 

A. Yes. The University of Georgia Carl Vinson report, a third party that studied fire operations in Chatham County, found that CES’ service area is, “receiving a relatively high level of service at a budget cost. Institute faculty confirmed that the cost basis per station for SSFD operations was substantially less than for Savannah Fire Department, but also less on a per capita basis than other comparison communities.” 

A. The CES Fire Operations Budget is approximately $13M per year. That is one-third (1/3) of the budget the City of Savannah has for Fire Protection that has 15 stations.

A. Yes, in accordance to government regulations. In addition, CES historically hosts an annual public meeting including a financial review and discussion.

A. CES has four distinct operational functions: Fire, EMS, Fire Watch and Cellular Tower Leasing. The engagement with Chatham County to fund fire services does include a very small percentage of the executive compensation for the small suite of four professionals who manage these four businesses. These positions include the CEO, COO, Human Resources Director and Director of Finance. Executive salaries are allocated proportionally to the size and activities of each business.

A. The Executive Team oversees four (4) businesses: Countywide Emergency Medical Services – operating the fourth largest emergency ambulance fleet in the State of Georgia; Fire Protection Services – operating 14 Unincorporated Area Fire Stations; Cellular Tower Leasing services – operating seven cellular towers, and Firewatch services at various port locations. The proportionate Executive Compensation allocations are as follows: EMS=50% of executive salaries, Fire=30%, Cellular towers and Support=18%, and Firewatch=2%. Compensation includes: salary, paid time off (PTO), additional life insurance policy payments, additional AD&D insurance policy payments, etc.  Tax return figures are a roll up of all these items and therefore appear inflated. 

A. Executive compensation is closely monitored by the Board of Directors, who again are not compensated nor have any financial interest in the not-for-profit and three Directors are appointed by the County.

A. Yes. The Board engaged a national search firm that assisted in hiring the CEO in 2016. The Board of Directors also conducted an executive compensation study for not-for-profit corporations of similar size, complexity, asset value, net worth and annual revenue by the national search firm. Further benchmarking was conducted using industry standards for compensation. The results were that CES was 30% below the market related to executive compensation, which matches the organization ethos of doing more with less and strong stewardship of income.

A. The fire operation contributes roughly 30% of the executive compensation. The vast majority of executive compensation (70%) is funded via the other operational endeavors.

A. Chatham County’s financial department and auditors vigorously review all monthly expenses paid by the County to CES.

Absolutely not. The true comparison of Executive compensation should be measured between the compensation of Fire Chief positions and not the Executives. The Executives have responsibility for four businesses. The Fire Chief has one.  CES’ Fire Chief is undercompensated in comparison to fire departments of like size in the area.

A. Absolutely not. An EMS Chief’s salary should only be compared to another EMS Chief’s salary in a similar sized operation with similar responsibilities. Anything else would not be an “apples to apples” comparison.