Members of South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, including Chief Wayne Senter and Board of Commissioners Chair Gerald Preuss, met with Bremerton Fire Department Chief Al Duke last week to present their proposal for a potential merger.
“The presentation went very well and was very well-received,” said Senter, adding that the BFD said it might announce as early as mid-January its decision to merge with either SKFR or Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue.
During CKFR’s presentation to BFD, the agency announced that its chief, Ken Burdette, would be retiring next spring, and suggested that Duke become leader of the combined agency.
“Because of that, (Duke) has taken himself out of the decision-making process,” Senter said, explaining that the decision will now be up to the firefighter’s union.
After progress toward a three-way merger ground to a halt last summer, BFD decided to first merge with either SKFR or CKFR. Last month, it sent both agencies a list of questions to answer related to merging operations.
“The greatest challenge we share is increasing the number of response personnel who actually answer emergency fire and EMS calls,” Senter and his staff wrote in the proposal prepared for BFD. “Together we can accomplish what independently we could not; providing our citizens “better service with the same resources is very much an attainable goal.”
SKFR then provided detailed responses to 13 questions, including:
Q. Clearly state your preferred option for bringing the two entities together. What is your projected timeline for completion of this project?
A. “There are three methods available for consolidating BFD and SKFR, including an Interlocal Agreement (ILA), Annexation of the BFD into SKFR, and forming a Regional Fire Protection Services Authority (RFA).
“The best option in our mind would be to direct the fire chiefs from each jurisdiction to complete a plan for consideration by each respective elected group. Once the consolidation plan is acceptable to both jurisdictions, then an RFA planning Committee would be formed for the purpose of finalizing the consolidation plan and starting the RFA election process. The first year of the plan would include an ILA for funding as a bridge to taxes being assessed in the new service boundary and received by the new RFA. SKFR beleives this effort could be ready for a ballot issue as early as November 2010.
Q. Are you considering outside assistance such as a facilitator or consultant?
A. “It is SKFR’s opinion that both BFD and SKFR have exceptional staff fully capable of putting a consolidation plan together without the aid of consultants other than a minimal amount of specific RFA legal advice.”
Q. Clearly explain the financial model you are proposing, in as much detail as possible.
A. “The recommended financial model for a BFD and SKFR consolidation is that both … contribute (their) current funding levels toward the new consolidated department. The city can reduce some BFD budget line items … (and) the net result is a reduction in the BFD budget and the opportunity to hire an additional three firefighters as an immediate result of consolidation.
“The proposed retirement of the BFD Asst. Fire Chief, Medical Officer and Training Officer add another opportunity to mesh our needs, hire and assistant to training, and an additional three firefighters.”
Q. Identify specific efficiencies within your proposal that will have a positive impact on Fire/EMS delivery for the citizens of our respective jurisdictions.
A. “A consolidated department will enjoy a number of efficiencies that result from economies of scale, elimination of duplication, and macro-service delivery strategies. Specifically, (consolidation) will allow for the addition of six firefighters, one half-time mechanic, one half-time facility/grounds (position), one half time IT (position), and one full-time clerical position.”
After more than two years of discussions about creating a Regional Fire Authority — West Sound Fire and Rescue — by combining all three agencies, talks stalled in September, largely over financial concerns.
The West Sound Fire and Rescue planning committee was disbanded, and all three fire chiefs agreed that the most logical way to proceed would be to have BFD choose one agency to merge with first, and have the third agency join later.
