Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Bellevue, Hailey step closer to fire consolidation

Contract for services still faces cost issue


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Hailey Fire Chief Mike Chapman presented a draft contract for services to the Bellevue City Council on Thursday, Oct. 11, in which Bellevue would pay for personnel and administrative services while maintaining ownership of equipment. Photo by David N. Seelig

After months of discussion between city officials and staff members, Bellevue appears to be one step closer to entering into a contract for services with the Hailey Fire Department, although one large hurdle remains: How much will it cost?

Hailey Fire Chief Mike Chapman presented the Bellevue City Council Thursday, Oct. 11, with a draft of a contract for services, highlighting the benefits its neighbor to the south could realize if they entered what he called "an operational consolidation."

Chapman likened the contract to that which exists between the Ketchum and Ketchum Rural fire departments, in which Ketchum Rural provides its own stations and equipment and pays Ketchum for personnel and administrative duties.

While the Hailey and Bellevue departments wouldn't legally be considered one entity, Bellevue's firefighters would be on the Hailey payroll and they would share a common department name. Each department would maintain ownership of its equipment, but Chapman said there would be the possibility of purchasing equipment together in the future. A clause in the contract explained how such items would be divvied up should the departments part ways somewhere down the line.

Chapman said that the combined force of 45 firefighters would be split into two districts drawn in conjunction with where personnel live. In addition, Bellevue would benefit from joining a department with an annual budget approximately four times as large as its own.

"This needs to be a win-win situation," Chapman said. "Hailey shouldn't be subsidizing Bellevue and Bellevue shouldn't be subsidizing Hailey."

Bellevue City Attorney Jim Phillips said that he still needs to review the contract with Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson, and the matter of the cost of such a contract remains unresolved.

City Administrator Tom Blanchard mentioned that a fee of $154,000 had been discussed, a significantly larger amount than Bellevue's 2007-2008 budget of $137,000, which includes a $38,000 federal grant that's not guaranteed year after year.

"The $154,000 is just a starting point and may not be the final figure for the first year of the contract," said Councilman Shaun Mahoney, who participated in the consolidation discussion with Hailey. He noted that the members of the two departments have a high respect for one another. "However, the contract won't be worth the ink it's written with if we can't afford it."

In addition, Wood River Fire & Rescue Commissioner Jay Bailet said that he would still like to try and negotiate a deal with Bellevue. Earlier this year, the two departments exchanged preliminary contract drafts, but Bellevue officials were frustrated at what they saw as vastly different ideas for consolidation.

"Somewhere along the line we ended up in the backseat," Bailet said. "We can provide a level of service that the Hailey Fire Department can't."

Bailet said that Wood River would be able to man its south station, located just south of Bellevue on state Highway 75, during the day with firefighters trained to provide paramedic-level response. Currently, Wood River is the only department in the south valley licensed to transport patients by ambulance. While the cost of such a consolidation has yet to be calculated, Councilwoman Tammy Eaton said it was important to continue to explore all options for consolidation.

"Are we, as city leaders, delivering the best possible level of service, or are we just trying to hammer out a contract?" Eaton asked. "If we're going to do this properly, we need to deliver the best service at the most efficient cost."

The issue will come back before the council once the attorneys for each city review the draft contract.

For an in-depth analysis of the complexities surrounding the consolidation of the south valley fire departments, please follow the link to the "State of Emergency" special series on the Mountain Express Web site.




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