Politicians, Police and Fire Unions Impede Long Term Progress on Infrastructure
The manner in which cities plan their emergency management is embedded firmly in the past. Fire departments are a relic of the past as around 70% of calls today are for medical emergencies and less around 4% for fires. (A recent study showed that 3% of all calls are for fire and 75% for medical emergencies in my home town of Midwest City, Ok.) Fire departments need to be renamed something like 'Emergency Response Department' and capital investment refocused towards more probable and predictable emergencies. One political problem is getting the police and fire unions to agree to support allocation of financial resources away from their members and towards other infrastructure. Another political problem is getting elected officials to propose and support financial outlays in the face of union opposition. Politicians often will vote in support of new infrastructure like jails, armored vehicles, and police military equipment, fire stations, fire equipment and new manpower bef...