Buckley fire chief urges full-time hires, council discusses public-safety sales tax and service alternatives

Chief Scogin told the City Council that rising call volume and high volunteer turnover mean the department can no longer rely on long-tenured volunteers and must add paid staffing to maintain response times.

"The days of an individual serving 5, 10, 20, 25, 30 years and beyond, is over," Chief Scogin said, describing a volunteer pool that often leaves for full-time jobs elsewhere. He said the department has seen turnover concentrated in the second year of service, when volunteers become qualified to drive or staff an aid unit, and that hires from the paid market now often do not stay long.

City staff described a five-year strategic approach and several options for funding and service delivery. The city administrator and staff recommended exploring a public-safety sales tax (up to 1 percent) that would be dedicated to public safety (fire and police), estimating roughly $250,000 per year if enacted. Staff also recommended evaluating hiring one full-time firefighter in 2026, contingent on funding, and beginning an internal analysis of in-house BLS (basic life support) or ALS (advanced life support) transport services.

Staff provided budget and revenue estimates. Using current numbers, staff said each additional full-time firefighter costs about $130,000 annually (estimated with a 5% inflation factor for medical and salaries). The city presented three revenue scenarios for transport services: continuing BLS only with contracted ALS (estimated additional annual revenue ~$300,000), providing both BLS and ALS in-house (estimated additional annual revenue ~$500,000), and continuing the existing contracted arrangement that has generated some transport revenue since partnering with Olympic Ambulance.

Short-term and contingency measures included: - Explore placing a public-safety sales tax measure on the ballot next year; the later timeline aims to avoid the complications of a presidential-year turnout-based certification. - Evaluate hiring 1 full-time firefighter in 2026 (budgeted but paused) and monitor call volume and permit revenue before unpausing. - Conduct an internal analysis of the cost and revenue potential of in-house BLS/ALS transport. - If no revenue measures succeed, consider other revenue options (B&O tax) or service reductions, revising contracts for outside service areas, scaling back mutual aid or, as a last resort, exploring formation of a regional fire authority.

Council discussion touched on volunteer incentives (city utility discounts or monthly stipends for local volunteers), the community's fire protection rating (currently class 3, with risk of moving to 4), and the tradeoffs of remaining a municipal fire department versus joining a fire district. No formal vote was taken; staff will continue analysis and return with more detailed fiscal forecasts and a potential ballot timeline.