Survey Said? You Bet It Did. The Echoes Are Still Being Felt Today

Rewind to 2023

To really get a feel for where the current issues with the Fire Department started, we’ve got to rewind back to 2023, when tension between Falmouth and Pendleton County had already been simmering for years.

Community Sentiment Was Clear

In September 2023, The Falmouth Outlook ran a community survey.

When 239 Pendleton County residents responded to the Outlook’s informal Facebook poll, nearly three quarters (73.6 percent) said they were willing to pay for a county wide, paid fire department.

Another 68.5 percent said dispatch should stay local.

That wasn’t a whisper. That was a roar.

Fiscal Court Ignores the People

But instead of acting on the will of the people, the Pendleton County Fiscal Court decided to play chess with our emergency services, bargaining lives against budgets.

And first on the board? Dispatch.

Despite overwhelming support for keeping it local, they voted to move it anyway.

Breaking Down the Timeline

Then Mayor Sebastian Ernst requested 225000 dollars from the county to maintain fire coverage via the city.

That was 100000 dollars more than the previous interlocal agreement (which funded it at 120000 dollars).

In response, Magistrate Rick Mineer declared the county would just build its own department.

The Temporary Deal

What followed was a temporary deal:

• The county agreed to a 150000 dollar payment for one year

• After that? A month to month agreement until the county’s new fire department is in place

The new department’s location is planned just a mile north of the city limits, about five minutes from the current station.

The county has earmarked nearly 1 million dollars in ARPA funds to get it operational.

Questionable Purchases

But early decisions raised red flags:

• 50000 dollar pumper truck, solid buy

• 20000 dollar aerial (ladder) truck from Grumman, a company that’s no longer in business? Not so much

Concerns:

• Only usable on US 27

• Requires more water pressure than the county can reliably supply

• Oversized, hard to maneuver

• Parts are scarce, repairs difficult

Meanwhile, a smaller, more practical truck was available on a government bid list for just 2000 dollars, made by a company that’s still in business. Guess which one they didn’t buy.

Plummer Pushes Back

Magistrate Josh Plummer voted against the ladder truck and made it plain:

“There was a better option, cheaper and smarter.”

He estimates the department will cost 300000 dollars per year, or possibly under 200000 once infrastructure is in place.

Ernst Proposes a Smarter Plan

Mayor Ernst didn’t just voice concerns, he offered a real solution:

• County buys and operates the existing Falmouth department

• Falmouth covers the 500 dollar per run cost for city calls

• No new taxes

• Create an 8 member oversight board:

  • 2 reps from each city

  • 1 from each county district

• Cities pay for their own calls, county residents pay for theirs

• Total: 130000 dollar per year net cost to the county

• Falmouth’s cost drops 75 percent, from over 200000 to just 50000 annually

Same coverage. Same station. Cheaper for everyone.

He even offered the Klee Farm, at a reduced price, as a new fire station site.

Offer Rejected

Judge Fields rejected it, claiming it would be a problem because it’s still inside city limits. So instead, they’re building a mile farther out, at significantly higher cost.

Dispatch Goes to KSP

The court also voted to hand dispatch to Kentucky State Police (KSP).

Sure, they claim it’ll save 300000 dollars, but the trade off?

• Local ran 2 to 3 trained people per shift

• KSP would add only 1 person, to cover Pendleton, Grant, Robertson, and maybe Nicholas

• That dispatcher isn’t dedicated to us

• Who sends backup when it’s needed now?

All those lost jobs when dispatch moved to KSP…

Who really benefits from this move?

Local Dispatchers Deserved Better

Even worse, our dispatchers were underpaid compared to KSP and other counties.

They attended 4 weeks of academy training in Richmond, then must commit 3 years locally or repay the cost.

But the court still treated them like disposable parts.

Northern Pendleton Already Pays

Firefighting today isn’t just fires, it’s political firestorms.

Take Northern Pendleton. They already pay:

• 10 cent tax for fire

• 10 cent tax for ambulance

Now they’re facing double taxation if they have to help fund the new general fund based county department on top of their existing services.

Fast Forward to Now

Falmouth is actively considering closing its fire department.

Councilman Stephen Gales asked Mayor Sabrina Hazan about the possibility of merging into the county’s department. He referenced Ernst’s earlier plan and asked for permission to feel it out.

Sabrina gave him permission to talk with Falmouth and Northern Pendleton leaders.

Allegations Behind the Scenes

But behind the scenes?

It’s been alleged that Sabrina Hazan and Councilwoman Joyce Carson met with Judge Fields to discuss shutting down the Falmouth Fire Department.

We can’t confirm that meeting, but what we can confirm is this:

Sabrina went to the fire department and allegedly threw Gales under the bus, claiming he wanted to shut them down.

In that same meeting, she was reportedly overheard saying:

“Well, you may not be here much longer anyway.”

On Record with Channel 19

And on record? She told Channel 19 News:

“The city cannot afford to fund both police and fire departments due to budget issues.”

Public Ignorance is No Excuse

Another notable quote from the Outlook article: Rick Mineer justified the dispatch move by saying “most people didn’t even know where dispatch was.”

(As if public ignorance was a good reason to offload critical infrastructure.)

This Story is Not Over

This story is complex. Money, politics, personality clashes, and shifting priorities. But we’re not backing down.

We’re tracking every thread.

We’ll follow every dollar.

And we’ll expose the decisions being made behind the curtain.

Stay Tuned for Part 2

Next up: We dive deeper into the state of city and county emergency services, where the lines are being drawn, and who is pulling the strings.

Send your whispers. Your anonymity is always protected.

Comments, reactions, and shares are appreciated.

Whisper One Out

The original Falmouth Outlook article