Stagnant State Funding Means Hazmat Team Costs Hopkins Taxpayers

State funding shortfalls for chemical assessment teams mean Hopkins taxpayers are picking up about a tenth of the cost of hazardous materials coverage for a five-county area.

When the first agreed to run a chemical assessment, or Hazmat, team in 1995, the state gave the department $45,000 annually to cover the necessary training. Seventeen years later, that amount is still at $45,000.

“This $45,000 we got in 1995 is not working in 2012,” Hopkins Fire Chief Dale Specken said.

The financial shortfall is a frustrating one for city officials because Hazmat teams are regional resources, not ones that benefit a single community. The 11 teams are distributed strategically across Minnesota. Each team is responsible for responding to chemical emergencies that occur within its specific region. Hopkins covers Hennepin, Carver, Scott, McLeod, and Renville counties.

In addition to the basic $45,000 compensation grant, the department receives thousands more in grants for equipment and other costs—much of that from the federal government. In all, the state’s $45,000, which primarily goes toward payroll and training, accounted for just 44 percent of the funding the team received in 2011, according to the city’s yearend financial report.

Yet these grants are getting harder to come by, and both Specken and Hopkins Finance Director Christine Harkess estimate the city must pick up about 10 percent of the costs of maintaining the Hazmat Team.

“Quite frankly, you can’t run a chemical assessment team on $45,000 a year,” Harkess said.

The 10 percent tab that Hopkins must pick up also doesn’t describe the true toll of the shortfall either. Hazmat team members must meet certain basic requirements. Because of the tight budgets, Hopkins must typically rely on in-house training. With more money, the department could invest in more in-depth training that exceeds the minimum requirements.

The problem is compounded because legislators have been balancing the state’s books by using funds from Minnesota’s Fire Safety Account. As part of the deal that ended last year’s state government shutdown, legislators and the governor agreed to transfer $3.7 million from that account to the general fund.

The Fire Safety Account—funded by a surcharge on homeowners and commercial insurance—is intended to pay for firefighter training and the State Fire Marshal’s office. Although the Fire Safety Account isn’t specifically for Hazmat, Specken argues there would be more money to trickle down for Hazmat training if the state weren’t tapping into this account for other purposes.

“We’re hoping that some of the extra money we’d get out of the Fire Safety Account would at least let us maintain,” Specken said.

There’s a limit to how much Hopkins can pay to support the team. The 12 calls the team responded to last year may not seem like much, but it likely made Hopkins the second busiest team in the state—behind only St. Paul. If another Hazmat team folded—and that forced Hopkins to cover twice as many counties—it would be difficult for the city to keep the team going, Specken said.

Likewise, the department would have a hard time sustaining the team if the state upped training requirements or mandated that the team respond to every unidentified barrel found along a highway.

But that’s not to say Hopkins intends to ditch its Hazmat team. Specken doesn’t foresee any Hazmat teams folding, and there are benefits even with the city picking up some of the costs.

Some of the grant-funded Hazmat equipment can be used on day-to-day fire calls—provided it’s available for Hazmat duty when needed. The program also allows more specialized training for Hopkins firefighters. And it’s a responsibility the team members have come enjoy.

“I don’t see us getting out of the business at all,” Specken said. “Our guys are interested, and our folks are interested.”

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Minnesota Chemical Assessment Teams

(Click on the map to the right of the article to see the teams’ regions.)

1. Moorhead Chemical Assessment team
2. Arrowhead/Grand Rapids Chemical Assessment team
3. Duluth Chemical Assessment team
4. West Central Environmental Consultants (WCEC) Chemical Assessment team
5. St. Cloud Chemical Assessment team
6. Southwest Minnesota Chemical Assessment team
7. North Metro Chemical Assessment team
8. Hopkins Chemical Assessment team
9. Mankato Chemical Assessment team
10. St. Paul Chemical Assessment team/Emergency Response Team
11. Rochester Chemical Assessment team