Mergers, Annexations, and Fire Authorities, oh my!
As the budget axe swings in just about every community in our region, the fire and EMS service has not been immune to reductions and budget cuts. In nearby and like communities such as University Place, Lakewood, Bremerton, Central Kitsap, South Kitsap, Mukilteo, and more, these local communities have either just recently combined fire service or are seriously pursuing doing just that.
There are a lot of reasons for combing fire service, but perhaps the biggest is just simple efficiency. Every time you have two separate fire departments, you duplicate so many operations in management, maintenance, overhead, suppression, and so on. Does it make any sense to have one fire department cover one side of the street, and because the other side of the street is unincorporated (not in a city or particular fire district) its served by someone else? This is especially concerning if it costs more to maintain two government entities/fire departments instead of just one and possibly reduces service for the customer/tax payer.
I’ve yet to hear or see of a citizen ask which fire or police department responded first to their home when they were in need. Thus this argument should be based on service to the citizen first and the value to their checkbook, and not just about control and politics. With that said, typically mergers, annexations, and RFA (regional fire authorities) just make sense.
See for you self what other cities and agencies are doing: (oh…and when you read what other communities 30 miles to the north pay for fire protection, realize that LFD is about a 1/3 of the cost for the same ISO/service rating).
Lakewood/University Place merger: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/1056148.html
Snohomish County:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091104/NEWS01/711049853
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20050913/NEWS01/509130747
Kitsap County:
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/poi/news/80440287.html
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/dec/05/bremerton-fire-merger-regains-momentum/
Thurston County:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/realdupont/archives/167911.asp