Voters to decide fire districts merger

Snohomish County Fire districts 26 and 28 are ready to make their merger official.

Next week Sky Valley voters will be asked to legally combine the two agencies, which have been operating as one since March 2017, during Snohomish County’s April 24 special election. If the merger is approved, district 28 will dissolve and joint operations will be phased in.

“The whole idea behind the merger is to create more efficient fire departments,” Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Walters, former chief for Fire District 28 in Index, told the Monitor.

Among other expectations, it is believed the merger can help with recruiting volunteers — nearly none of the agencies’ firefighters are paid, and the majority have taken extra training to become EMTs. Walters said staffing all three stations around the clock was already easier a month after the interlocal agreement was approved last year.

Before the consolidation, Fire Station 55 in Index had one part-time volunteer firefighter on duty during the day, alongside Walters. There were 12 volunteers to choose from in the area. Afterward, there was about six times that amount. Volunteers are trained to fight wildfires, house fires and provide medical services.

The temporary contract already consolidated most operations, leadership and government, creating one fire chief — Eric Andrews was appointed — and one assistant fire chief position. Each agency’s five-member board of commissioners was formed into one 10-member board. The unified services are designated as Fire District 26, originally formed in 1968, however, Fire District 28 still currently exists.

The fire districts still have two small separate budgets, but the majority of operations are now part of one blended, nearly $1.5 million annual budget. The consolidated district serves roughly 7,500 people within 206 square miles.

Andrews said previously that the new system will also help the districts use money more efficiently. While taxpayers won’t get anything back because of the merger, the plan lessens the likelihood they will be asked to spend more on those services, he said.

Mergers have become increasingly common in the region. Voters approved the merger of fire districts 3 and 7 during the 2016 August primary election. The two agencies officially became one that October. Their emergency responders now cover 98.5 square miles, providing services to 110,000 residents in Monroe, Maltby, Clearview, Mill Creek and other surrounding communities.

Ballots must be turned in by 8 p.m. on election day. The results will be made official May 4.