Districts 3, 7 continue merger discussions

Further discussion on the possibility of a fire district merger between Snohomish County Fire District 3 in Monroe and District 7 in Clearview was held last week during a special commissioners' meeting.

District 7 commissioners Randy Fay and Jeff Schaub, who make up a special District 7 committee formed to examine the district-to-district merger concept, were involved during the meeting at the Monroe Fire Department on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Monroe commissioners Dean Schwartz, Leslie Jo Wells, Marc Inman and Bill Snyder were all in attendance, along with District 7 Chief Gary Meek and assistant chief Eric Andrews, and District 3 Chief Jamie Silva and assistant chief Steve Guptill.

Fire Districts 3 and 7 are each governed by a five-person elected commission tasked with analyzing and approving all expenditures involving tax dollars. The commissioners serve six-year terms and would combine to form one commission should the merger take place. At the onset of the merger, there would be 10 commissioners ' that number would decrease over time as terms ended.

Ultimately, the decision to merge would be up to the voters. Should the fire commissioners vote to move forward with a formal merger, the item would be placed on a ballot, possibly as early as next summer. Andrews and Silva initially pitched the merger during a special joint commissioners' meeting in August, and all commissioners indicated support of further analysis.

Last week, commissioners were presented with a preliminary draft financial feasibility analysis created by fire district budget modeling expert Bill Cushman, which showed what the finances might look like if the two districts combined. So far, the merger concept has been based on the assumption that District 3 would be the merging agency. If the merger was to move forward, District 3 would potentially take on District 7's taxation, and only District 3 voters would need to participate in a vote.

This would likely mean a lower tax rate for District 3 residents. The departments are currently investigating what the blended rate would look like with the Snohomish County Assessor's Office.

Cushman's financial model merged expenses, operating revenues, reserves, apparatus and equipment funds. The model included voter-approved levy rate restoration measures, which are required by districts to remain financially sound. This is due to a 2007 initiative that puts a 1-percent lid on property tax increases. As assessed values in fire districts increase and levy rates become lower, the 1 percent is insufficient to keep up with expenses.-á

Cushman's scenario included two successful fire levy measures and one successful EMS levy measure.

"It shows that if we bring the two departments together, that we can be financially stable for years to come,GÇ¥ Silva said.-á -á

Districts 3 and 7 have already started consolidating services to test the feasibility of becoming one agency. One of the benefits of a merger, said Andrews in August, would be the cost-savings and efficiency improvements that would come with combining resources.-á -á

Schwartz has advocated for a cautious approach since the idea of consolidating was first presented. He asked about the compatibility of the two departments, and requested an update on the new Community Resource Paramedic (CRP) program. The CRP position is a collaborative position shared by Districts 3, 7 and 8.-á -á

"I don't think we should rush into this,GÇ¥ Schwartz said. "We're sharing two employees, and I don't even know how that's working out. Can we really work together? Can our staffs work together?GÇ¥

The CRP program is still in its early phase, as it had to be built from the ground up. Guptill pointed out the two departments actually have a long history of collaboration. The two agencies partnered on the joint maintenance shop many years ago, which is located at District 3 in Monroe.-á

"Those aren't our first experiences working with District 7,GÇ¥ Guptill said. "Obviously we've been in a partnership with them since 1996 with the shop, and we've seen nothing but follow through and commitment from them. We've had a long standing working relationship with them.GÇ¥

Meek reported the departments' initial experience with sharing administrative staff has been successful. District 7 has accounting staff cross-training on Monroe's payroll system, a District 3 records specialist has been organizing archives at District 7 and District 3's GIS specialist Elsa Sexton has been working on updating District 7 maps.

"We've been reaching out and sharing those positions back and forth,GÇ¥ Meek said. "So far, it's been really positive in my opinion.GÇ¥

Differences would have to be reconciled should the two districts come together, including the way the departments are structured. District 7 has a four-platoon system, and its firefighters work 24-hour shifts. District 3 operates with a three-platoon system, and its firefighters work 48-hour shifts. They already cleared one hurdle this summer, said International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2781 President Michael McConnell, when the two unions voted to merge and form one union.

McConnell is optimistic about the concept of merging, as is District 3's union official, firefighter/paramedic Corey Wenzel.

Commissioners will continue identifying merger pros and cons.

For more information about Monroe Fire District 3, visit www.monroefire.org/index.cfm. For more information about Fire District 7, visit www.firedistrict7.com.-á