A number of years ago I attended a seminar on leadership and goal setting. At one point the presenter had us open our checkbooks and make a list of everything we had spent money on in the past six months. Then we categorized and ranked those expenditures by the amount of money we had committed to each purchase or payment.
The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate where our real priorities were, not just what we said we were committed to.
It was an enlightening experience. Of course most of the income of the participants went to essential services and fixed costs like housing, food, clothing, transportation and health care.
But from the discretionary money that remained, how did we spend it? Did we pay for entertainment, education or travel? Did we contribute to charitable or political causes we said we supported? Did we splurge on luxuries or set aside significant sums to savings?
Even among the fixed costs, there was a story to be told. Did we have a small mortgage on a modest home, but a big payment on a high-end new vehicle? How often did we eat at restaurants? Did we invest in things like health club dues or did we prefer to go to night school for a degree?
Applied to fire departments
The purpose of this exercise was not to pass judgment, but rather to provide insight into the possible disconnect between what we said we prioritized in our lives and what we actually prioritized by how we spent our money.
It seems to me that this would be a worthy exercise for fire departments to do as well. Like many individuals, most fire departments spend the vast majority of their budgets on fixed expenses: salaries and benefits, buildings, equipment, vehicles and maintenance.
The portion that is left after these basic costs are covered must be divided among many competing interests: training and development, public outreach and education, facility upgrades, new program development and infrastructure updates.
No matter what kind of good intentions fire department leaders may have, it seems like someone is always unhappy with the ultimate decisions that are made through budget allocation.
But through this process, it is worth remembering that money speaks to priorities and values of an individual or organization, regardless of conscious intention.
Follow the money
Recently there have been news stories from a couple different fire departments about the ongoing lack of bathroom facilities for women on the job.
Two of the large departments profiled have had women as members for over 30 years. Yet still the majority of stations do not include designated shower, toilet, or locker space for women.
From a purely practical view, this situation reflects the fact that facilities modification can be quite expensive, and the money that could be spent on such projects is continually redirected to other priorities.
But consider the subtext. If access to bathroom facilities is a basic right and expectation of workers in any profession but providing that access continues to be pushed down the list of priorities due to cost, what does that say about how the department values those directly affected by that decision?
Money and priorities work the other way as well.
Healthy spending
One fire department that wanted to make a strong statement about the importance of firefighter behavioral health spent the money to make sure every firefighter could attend a live class given by an outside expert. This cost the department money for the presenter as well as some overtime costs, and not everyone on the department agreed with money being spent in this way.
But the fact that the department chose to spend this money sent a clear message to everyone about how the department prioritized the message being presented.
Sometimes departments tend to be reactive rather than proactive in establishing priorities. For one small department, investing in fitness equipment, medical screenings and wellness initiatives seemed like too much money to spend. Then when one member died in the line of duty from a heart attack secondary to treatable heart disease, the investment suddenly made perfect sense.
Departments always have choices to make about how money is spent, and those choices have real consequences in outcomes. Yes, it is cheaper to have firefighters do a generic sexual harassment class online, but will this really be effective not only in content but also in how important the class appears to department members?
Yes, it may be more cost effective to sign up for a computer translation service versus recruiting and training bilingual members, but does this best meet the needs of your diverse service community?
Money will always be limited and there will always be other priorities that seem to be at the front of the line when it comes to spending it. But fire departments must be careful not to be too short term or reactionary in how they think about money. Instead, fire departments need to look at investing in the future rather than just managing in the present.
So take the time to open your checkbook (or more likely, your accounting spreadsheet.) Look at how money is actually being spent and compare that to your department’s stated goals and values.
Is there a good alignment? Or, is there a need for a change?
