Police-Fire Merger: A Preimplementation Analysis of Performance and Cost

Abstract

: The total merger of police and fire services into a public safety department represents a radical restructuring of service delivery and often involves political risks. This article illustrates how a collection of mathematical models can be used by a city official to project the impact of a merger on emergency service performance and cost in his or her locale prior to actual implementation. The technical description of the models is documented elsewhere. Rather, the presentation focuses on the information that these models can provide a city official confronting this politically risky decision. As an illustration a specific city in Michigan is analyzed and several performance trade-offs associated with a merger are highlighted. The cost analysis discussion is structured to indicate how certain key management decisions affect whether or not a merger will save money. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the political barriers to a merger.