Olympia and Tumwater are proposing a joint fire authority. What does that mean for you?
In an effort to curb the competitiveness of a city budget and speed up response times, the cities of Olympia and Tumwater have laid out a timeline to hopefully combine the cities’ fire departments under one Regional Fire Authority.
Both city councils were presented with the timeline and why and how the RFA would be formed during meetings April 19.
The idea first arose when the cities participated in a study in 2019 with a few other cities in Thurston County to gauge leaders’ interest in forming more fire authorities. There are already two in the county, the West Thurston and Southeast Thurston RFAs. Including those, there are about a dozen in the state.
The two cities then agreed to explore a partnership. Olympia City Manager Jay Burney said the cities share similar risk profiles, histories and organizational structures. He said creating an RFA with the two jurisdictions could control costs and improve service, level tax rates across both areas and provide greater equity.
Then in May 2021, the city councils authorized an interlocal agreement, which provided a framework for pursuing an RFA and what that all entails. An RFA Planning Committee was formed to shepherd the framework and timeline; it’s composed of city council members, the fire chiefs from both cities, and the presidents of both fire department’s labor unions.
To date, the committee has created a charter to outline the group’s purpose, conducted a public workshop, outlined a work plan, values and principles, and has begun reviewing how an RFA would be financed and governed.
The committee also has plans to hold a remote informational meeting for the public to ask questions and get more information at 6 p.m. May 19.
During the Tumwater City Council meeting on April 19, Fire Chief Brian Hurley said planning for an RFA comes at a time when both fire departments are seeing an increase in call volume that is increasing response times due to a lack of resources and strain put on funding.
“Maintaining appropriate service levels and response times when responding to emergencies has been challenging as our communities have grown,” Hurley and Olympia Fire Chief Mark John said in an online statement. “As our communities continue to grow, we must constantly evaluate our service delivery model and implement changes to ensure the highest level of service is delivered most efficiently.”
Hurley said an RFA can ensure long-term funding because it is supported by a voter-approved tax, which the cities are targeting to have on the ballot in April 2023. Hurley said an RFA is a separate, independent unit of local government created by voters.
Tumwater City Administrator John Doan said merging the fire departments under an RFA would allow for more freedom in where money goes and more of a reliance on the public, rather than the city.
“It provides sustainability,” Doan said. “It doesn’t put it in competition with other city services and funding.”
The funding options
Doan said about 80% of a fire department’s costs are for staff. After that, he said it’s about maintaining cash flow to allow for funding reserves and emergency needs like vehicle replacements and potential payouts.
Currently, fire and emergency services are funded through each city’s annual budget. Tumwater’s biennial budget for 2021-22 allocates $15,700,774 for its department. Olympia’s allocates $18,812,866 for its department.
Doan said the cities are working with consultants to create a seven-year finance plan to ensure that the RFA will start on a solid foundation through taxpayer money and can start providing services immediately.
Doan laid out two options on how an RFA could be funded.
Option 1 would include an added property tax of up to $1.50 per $1,000 in assessed property value. However, the tax would replace a portion of both cities’ general tax levy rather than increase property taxes.
Under option 1, the RFA would also receive funding through a share of the county’s emergency services levy revenue, as well as through fees for services such as fire and sprinkler inspections. This route would need approval from just more than half the voters.
Option 2 would include a similar fire levy but only up to $1. The deficit compared to option 1 would be made up by a fire benefit charge, paid by the people who receive the fire department’s services, based on what type of equipment was needed, staffing resources and the size of the situation.
Doan said, for example, a house fire would be charged much differently than a tire factory fire.
Under option 2, the RFA would continue to receive a share of the county’s EMS levy revenue as well as funding through fees for service. Option 2 would need 60% voter approval for it to pass.
Doan said the planning committee’s analysis showed the cities would need to go with option 2 if they want to provide the same or better service to residents, because the benefit charge would bring in more money and has less restrictions than a property tax does.
Governance
The councils were also presented with potential governing structures for an RFA, which the planning committee is still ironing out.
The final RFA plan will include a proposed structure for a board of commissioners to oversee the department.
The board, which would be six people, could be composed of elected officials from member agencies, persons elected at-large by voters every four years, persons elected by district or a mix of all three.
The first board will be composed of elected officials from member agencies as it gets settled, Doan said.
The cost of moving forward on creating an RFA plan is estimated to be $150,000, which will be funded through Olympia’s 2020 year-end savings, according to City Council documents.
The two cities combined have six fire stations, a training center and a vehicle repair center, all of which will continue to operate if an RFA is established. Hurley said he wants to ensure all staff involved in both departments are able to have a place within the RFA.
Hurley said he thinks an RFA could improve response time and resources, as well as allow for easier collaboration with Crisis Response Units and the FD CARES program. The program would create a behavioral health unit of emergency services, composed of social workers and behavioral specialists to support people who are in crisis.
In addition to hosting its first public informational meeting in May, the planning committee will approach the city councils three more times in the next few months with updates on the RFA plan, with the goal of submitting it by October of this year.
After a few months of deliberation, the councils would then approve the plan by February 2023 and have the measure on the ballot by April. Doan said the goal is to have the RFA up and running by Aug. 1, 2023, with taxes and charges imposed starting in 2024.
“There’s some benefits with the Olympia conversation that we knew all along,” Doan said. “There’s a long history and tradition of those two organizations. The biggest challenge is that it means we have to stand up an organization from scratch. But others have done it, we think we can do it.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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