CONNEAUT — A pending citizen study of the Conneaut Fire Department could — and should — include the merits of regionalized fire service, City Council was told earlier this week.

At issue is a seven-person panel that will examine the department for ways to cut costs. Each council member will appoint one person. Eleven names have already been recommended, said Council President Thomas Udell.

“We’ve had quite a response,” he said.

By comparison, another pending committee that will examine the city’s housing stock is desperate for volunteers. Only one person has stepped forward to serve, Udell said.

The city’s desperate budget situation is the motivation for the study, according to Councilman-at-large Robert Naylor, who suggested the citizens panel. The group will be charged with looking at the fire department and determining if any financial fat.

This week, Naylor said he hoped the committee will examine a wide range of options, including the ground-breaking topic of blending services with neighboring departments. Regionalism may be the way to go to help communities struggling with money woes, he said.

“If we don’t start looking at regional services, we’re going to be broke,” he said.

Public Safety Director Jon Arcaro, speaking at the same meeting, agreed regionalism is a good idea, calling it “a viable option,” and was discussed when the fire department was consolidated last year. Neighboring fire departments are well-stocked with equipment but lack the personnel, he said.

“There’s millions of dollars of equipment no personnel to run them,” Arcaro said.

Regionalizing fire service will be a sizable task, Arcaro said. “It will be up to the communities (and not just council),” he said.

Earlier this year, Naylor — chairman of council’s finance/ordinance committee — suggested the committees as a way to research important topics. Others are skeptical; the city’s nine full-time firefighters, in particular, are leery of Naylor’s motives. A few weeks ago Naylor gave a presentation that focused on how much the full-timers cost the city budget.

The make-up of the fire committee sparked an exchange between Naylor and Ward 4 Councilman Tony “Dino” Julio. Naylor took exception to Julio’s nominee to the committee — Assistant Fire Chief Michael Castrilla. The assistant chief can’t serve because city employees are excluded from the panel, but the nomination led to some testy comments.

The committee must steer clear of “private agendas and friendships” to preserve its objectivity, Naylor said.

“The purpose (of the committee) is to take a serious look (at the budget),” he said. “This city is in dire financial straits. If we sit back we’ll look like Ashtabula, where they couldn’t afford to plow their streets.”

Julio replied he picked Castrilla, a union member and full-time firefighter, to ensure “true information” about the fire department reaches the committee. Naylor said Castrilla wasn’t an appropriate pick.

“That’s like letting the fox guard the hen house,” Naylor said.

Elsewhere, city administrators gave up on their plan to appoint an assistant public service director. Legislation authorizing the new position was withdrawn at the request of City Manager Robert Schaumleffel Jr. The city will seek a water distribution manager instead.

The idea had run afoul of some council members, who questioned the qualifications of John Falcone, the intended job-holder. Falcone, who would have been expected to oversee the water distribution system, lacks the proper certification, opponents said.

Bob Mannion, public service director, said he planned to monitor the distribution system until Falcone received the necessary training. Last week, Naylor was particularly skeptical, saying the entire plan was devised merely to give Falcone a pay raise.