EFR continues expansion talks
December 17, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
Eastside Fire & Rescue may be nearing a conclusion on the proposal to add a new fire department to the existing partnership.
But some members of the board say that the proposed expansion would mean higher costs to local taxpayers without a corresponding increase in services.
EFR Finance Chief Dave Gray plans to meet with representatives from the Fall City fire department about the financial viability of a partnership. Gray and other EFR officials say that there may be merit in expanding the partnership and wish to explore the idea.
EFR is a regional fire company encompassing the cities of Issaquah, Sammamish and North Bend, and parts of unincorporated King County including fire districts 10 and 38.
Board members from the city partners have disputed the financial logic of adding another fire district into the regional fire agency.
Board members Jack Barry and Lee Fellinge, who both represent Sammamish, have been vocal opponents of an expansion. They say that an expanded partnership might result in taxpayers paying for improvements to fire and rescue service in the Fall City area, without clear benefits to other citizens.
Barry and Fellinge have been outspoken in resisting a partnership unless the fire department in the Fall City area can demonstrate that it could pay for its incorporation into EFR.
The reason that question looms is that EFR has a minimum standard of three firefighters at any specific time, while the Fall City fire department requires two. Some EFR board members are wary of potentially subsidizing increased manpower for Fall City.
Proponents of exploring the partnership, such as Fire Chief Lee Soptich, say that adding a partner would spread out the costs of fire service among a greater number of departments, driving down cost to individual partners, such as North Bend.
Gray said there were three focal points for this meeting:
• Does Fall City have the revenue stream to support an upgrade?
• Would a partnership would result in cost savings for individual partners such as the city of North Bend?
• Are there solutions, such as a levy increase for Fall City taxpayers, that would make the partnership possible?
“This information is the pivotal point that we’re all waiting for,” Soptich said.
Mike Mitchell, a board member representing Fire District 10, who serves on EFR’s finance and operations committee, agreed to join the meeting with Gray and the Fall City representatives.
Before any new partners could be added to EFR, the Board of Directors and each member body – including the city councils of Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend – must each vote to approve the expansion. If any one group rejects the proposal, it fails.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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