Published: Monday, October 26, 2009
It's a tough call for Edmonds on fire service
The city may take the controversial step of farming out emergency services
EDMONDS — The future of this city’s fire department hangs on a City Council vote.
Council members say they expect a final vote by Nov. 10 that will determine whether the city continues to run its own fire department or pays Snohomish County Fire District 1 to provide fire protection and emergency medical services.
They plan to discuss the issue at a 7 p.m. public hearing Tuesday at City Hall.
“To me it really boils down to public safety,” Councilman Strom Peterson said. “I think we’ll have a better fire department. I think our firefighters think we’ll have a better fire department. The icing on the cake is it’s also going to save the city money every year.”
The discussions come at a tumultuous time for the city. Earlier this year, Edmonds issued staff furloughs and layoffs to bridge a $5.2 million budget shortfall.
Facing the prospect of additional service and staff cuts, the council considered asking voters to lift a cap this fall on how much property tax the city can collect each year.
Cities may only increase they property tax they collect each year by 1 percent. They must get voter approval to collect more.
However, the council shelved the $3.75 million tax levy idea in July amidst concerns that it would be wrong to ask voters to cough up more taxes during a recession and because of uncertainties over Tim Eyman’s latest tax measure, Initiative 1033, which would force cities to cut property taxes as revenue increases.
Monday, the council decided to hold off on a final decision on the fire district contract in order to give city staff, residents and the council at least another week to digest financial projections by interim finance director Lorenzo Hines.
“We have to slow it down a little bit and make sure we understand the numbers,” council President D.J. Wilson said Wednesday.
Mayor Gary Haakenson says having the fire district take over its 105-year-old fire department would save the city nearly $1 million a year through 2012. His proposal is supported by the city’s firefighters and by Fire Chief Thomas J. Tomberg, all of whom would become employees of the fire district.
Under terms of the proposed agreement, the fire district would provide the city’s fire and emergency services beginning next January at a cost of $6.2 million a year.
The district would buy Edmonds’ fire equipment, but the city would retain ownership of its fire stations and the land around them.
Edmonds also provides fire service for residents of Esperance, a small patch of unincorporated county land surrounded by the city.
Last week, the council agreed to narrow its choices from six to two: contracting with the fire district and keeping the fire stations, or going without a fire district contract.
Haakenson in September proposed selling the city’s three fire stations as a way to plug a hole in next year’s budget. However, some council members balked at the idea.
Some council members said they also liked what they heard in September testimony from the city of Mountlake Terrace, which in 2005 decided to contract with District 1 for fire protection and emergency medical services.
Mountlake Terrace retained ownership of its fire station and continues to collect fees charged insurance carriers whenever someone is taken by ambulance to the hospital. Edmonds also would keep ambulance fees, which Haakenson said amount to at least $700,000 a year.
Fire District 1 also provides service in Brier but it keeps the ambulance fees.
In an interview, Haakenson agreed with critics of the proposal that such short-term savings won’t solve the city’s long-term financial problems and that the council likely will have to take another look at placing a tax levy on the ballot, perhaps as soon as February.
“We’re going to have to ask citizens to pay for services,” he said.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com.
Council members say they expect a final vote by Nov. 10 that will determine whether the city continues to run its own fire department or pays Snohomish County Fire District 1 to provide fire protection and emergency medical services.
They plan to discuss the issue at a 7 p.m. public hearing Tuesday at City Hall.
“To me it really boils down to public safety,” Councilman Strom Peterson said. “I think we’ll have a better fire department. I think our firefighters think we’ll have a better fire department. The icing on the cake is it’s also going to save the city money every year.”
The discussions come at a tumultuous time for the city. Earlier this year, Edmonds issued staff furloughs and layoffs to bridge a $5.2 million budget shortfall.
Facing the prospect of additional service and staff cuts, the council considered asking voters to lift a cap this fall on how much property tax the city can collect each year.
Cities may only increase they property tax they collect each year by 1 percent. They must get voter approval to collect more.
However, the council shelved the $3.75 million tax levy idea in July amidst concerns that it would be wrong to ask voters to cough up more taxes during a recession and because of uncertainties over Tim Eyman’s latest tax measure, Initiative 1033, which would force cities to cut property taxes as revenue increases.
Monday, the council decided to hold off on a final decision on the fire district contract in order to give city staff, residents and the council at least another week to digest financial projections by interim finance director Lorenzo Hines.
“We have to slow it down a little bit and make sure we understand the numbers,” council President D.J. Wilson said Wednesday.
Mayor Gary Haakenson says having the fire district take over its 105-year-old fire department would save the city nearly $1 million a year through 2012. His proposal is supported by the city’s firefighters and by Fire Chief Thomas J. Tomberg, all of whom would become employees of the fire district.
Under terms of the proposed agreement, the fire district would provide the city’s fire and emergency services beginning next January at a cost of $6.2 million a year.
The district would buy Edmonds’ fire equipment, but the city would retain ownership of its fire stations and the land around them.
Edmonds also provides fire service for residents of Esperance, a small patch of unincorporated county land surrounded by the city.
Last week, the council agreed to narrow its choices from six to two: contracting with the fire district and keeping the fire stations, or going without a fire district contract.
Haakenson in September proposed selling the city’s three fire stations as a way to plug a hole in next year’s budget. However, some council members balked at the idea.
Some council members said they also liked what they heard in September testimony from the city of Mountlake Terrace, which in 2005 decided to contract with District 1 for fire protection and emergency medical services.
Mountlake Terrace retained ownership of its fire station and continues to collect fees charged insurance carriers whenever someone is taken by ambulance to the hospital. Edmonds also would keep ambulance fees, which Haakenson said amount to at least $700,000 a year.
Fire District 1 also provides service in Brier but it keeps the ambulance fees.
In an interview, Haakenson agreed with critics of the proposal that such short-term savings won’t solve the city’s long-term financial problems and that the council likely will have to take another look at placing a tax levy on the ballot, perhaps as soon as February.
“We’re going to have to ask citizens to pay for services,” he said.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com.
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