By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Loveland, Symmes Township and the Loveland-Symmes Township Fire Department are scrambling to save the private firefighting agency from potential bankruptcy.

The fire department of 46 firefighters and paramedics endured severe sticker shock this year when its health insurance costs jumped 13 percent and liability expenses jumped 67 percent, Loveland City Manager Fred Enderle said.

Yet its annual budget of $2.5 million rose 5 percent.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation also conducted an audit that concluded that the fire department owed the state agency more than $1 million because, for years, the department had been paying into the state's system as if were a municipal body rather than a private entity.

"That workers' compensation thing is a real bugaboo. We've got to find a solution. If (the department) has to pay, it will go bankrupt," Enderle said.

Chief Otto Huber said the fire department, which protects 26,500 people, will appeal the state agency's ruling. In the meantime, fire officials aren't taking any risks.

They have been working with Loveland and Symmes Township officials to determine how the fire department can deal with rising costs.

They have bandied about several options, including becoming a public entity, which would allow the department to pay less in workers' compensation fees.

Other options include tax levies, or laying off firefighters and paramedics, who receive salaries ranging from $26,000 to $44,000.

The latter "is the least favorable of the options," Huber said.

Symmes Township Administrator Gerald Beckman has faith that the fire department's appeal with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation will be successful.

"I'm confident that we'll find a solution," he said. "We always look at all the options."

E-mail svela@enquirer.com