It is, to paraphrase Manteca Councilman Charlie Halford, a travesty that more than 3,000 city residents may have to wait as long as 12 minutes on average for firefighters to reach them if they are having a heart attack or their house is on fire.

Manteca needed a dedicated truck company 14 years ago.

It needed a sixth fire station at least four years ago.

And it would be a complete outrage and failure of public trust if a fifth 100 engine company isn’t fully manned within 6 to 9 months and ground doesn’t break on a southwest fire station by the end of 2026.

That would give Manteca five engine companies and a truck company, all fully staffed.

Manteca can hire nine firefighters sooner than later.

And it can be done on the back of Great Wolf guests.

The City of Manteca’s room tax split with Great Wolf has two major benchmarks within the 20-year framework of the Measure Q three quarter of a cent sales tax.

Around 2032 — 12 years after the 25-year Great Wolf room tax split deal went into effect — the city’s share will jump roughly $2 million to $4 million.

Then, after 25 years, 100 percent of the room tax collected goes to the city.

Based on the original foundational analysis of the room tax sharing agreement using a 70 percent occupancy rate, the city in constant 2020 dollars will start receiving $10 million in TOT from Great Wolf.

It reflects an increase of roughly $8 million more than the city currently receives from Great Wolf.

It takes $2.3 million to hire the nine firefighters to man a truck company or an engine company.

The City Council could commit Measure Q funds “now” to fund the nine positions, and then wean off of it in 2032 or so when Great Wolf room tax revenues go to the next level.

That means the reoccurring costs of fire personnel will be covered long before the Measure Q tax expires in 2045.

As such, it removes the concern that using Measure Q tax receipts now for recurring costs isn’t sustainable.

It is, however, on a temporary basis.

The promise of Great Wolf was creating new sources of ongoing city revenue.

Shifting the cost of critically needed firefighters to be covered by the coming bump in the city’s share of Great Wolf receipts is a no brainer.

As far as the fire station goes, the city now has $6 million on hand to cover the $10 million cost of the facility.

The city had the ability to advance the $4 million from other accounts that can be reimbursed when growth fees for fire facilities are paid. That is how the fifth fire station at Woodward Avenue and Atherton Drive was built sooner than later.

Measure Q was passed on the strength of the promise of improved public safety as well as stepped up road maintenance.

It a virtually undebatable that a fifth engine company manned 24/7 improves the level of public safety citywide and not just in southwest Manteca, where response times should be completely unacceptable to each and every council member.

That’s because if the engine company housed at the Louise Avenue or Powers Avenue stations are dispatched to cover a call in the service area of the Union Road station when that assigned engine company is tied up on an emergency in the southwest, it lengthens response time elsewhere.

The city has never properly utilized the investment taxpayers made in 2005 when the Union Road station was built.

It was designed to accommodate staffing for two companies, a standard engine and the tiller truck with a 100-foot aerial ladder.

There are those that want to be “super cautious” in case the economy takes a plunge.

That is even more the case when it comes to recurring personnel expenses.

But if a long identified weakness in public safety that has been known for 14 years and counting isn’t the absolute highest priority for Measure Q receipts start flowing in, then voters need to think long and hard who they want leading the city when the 2026 elections roll around.

Putting aside $2.3 million out of $12 million or so of annual Measure Q receipts from 2026 to 2033 for firefighters is do-able.

What is not acceptable would be city leadership not putting life and death considerations at the top of the Measure Q expenditure priority list.

It is absolute the right thing not to tie recurring personnel expenses to a sales tax that expires in 20 years. It isn’t sustainable and as such is fiscally irresponsible.

But using a part of the Measure Q receipts for roughly a third of its lifespan to make sure a sixth engine company can be staffed 24/7 as soon as possible is responsible.

Those firefighters can, and should be, hired now.

Keep in mind “now” in the world of government doesn’t mean it will happen today.

The council first, and foremost, needs to decide exactly what to do.

Given Measure Q is integrated into the city budget, it is reasonable the start of the actual process of adding nine firefighters can start by July 1.

Recruiting then needs to be done. Interviews need to be conducted. Background checks have to happen.

The first firefighter likely could be hired by October.

Given the Measure Q tax goes into effect April 1, five months’ worth of revenue collections will have taken place.

Do not forget the “natural” growth of firefighter staffing from the general fund would mean the city should be able to start hiring in the next year is so to ramp up manpower for the sixth engine company to be assigned to the sixth station when it is completed.

And let’s not ignore a study the city paid for on citywide fire services and response times before the pandemic.

It indicated based on general plan growth patterns if the city built a fire station in southwest Manteca and replaced the existing Louise Avenue fire station farther east on the other side of Highway 99, that there would not be a pressing need for a seventh station that would require another nine firefighters for a number of years.

Manteca needs nine firefighters now and another nine by the time the sixth fire station is completed.

The citizens did their part.

They passed Measure Q and will be paying the price.

It is now up to elected leaders to deliver.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com