Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves fire and emergency-service agreements with four cities; sets contribution percentages
Summary
The commission approved interlocal agreements with Helper, Price, Wellington and East Carbon to fund fire and emergency services for unincorporated areas and agreed to place 25% of payments into a pooled discretionary fund managed with city fire chiefs.
Carbon County commissioners approved updated fire and emergency service agreements on Wednesday that formalize how Helper, Price, Wellington and East Carbon will respond to emergencies in unincorporated areas and how the county will fund that coverage.
Commissioner Jensen presented the agreements and explained each city’s contribution percentage under the new structure. "Price City, we've agreed to 35% of their annual budget. Helper, 72 percent. Wellington, 61 percent. And East Carbon, 50 Percent," Jensen said during the presentation.
Under the agreements the county will continue its history of supplementing municipal fire budgets in defined geographic response areas outside city limits. The contracts also require each city to submit its finalized budget between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15 each year so the county can calculate the following year’s contribution. The agreement directs the cities to remit 25% of the county-funded amount back to the county into a discretionary fund managed with the Fire Chief Association; county staff will disperse those pooled funds on the chiefs’ recommendations.
Commissioners said the percentage differences reflect operational realities: Wellington and Helper respond to higher numbers of crashes on Highway 6, which partly explains their larger percentages, while Price City responds to a larger share of home-based emergencies. Commissioner Jensen moved approval and the commission passed the motion by voice vote.
Justin Needles, referenced in the discussion, was named as a staff coordinator to help with fund disbursement administration, and county staff will continue to work with the four-city Fire Chief Association on the discretionary fund process.
The agreements aim to provide clearer budgeting, a pooled resource for joint needs, and a standardized timeline for cities to present budgets and for the county to calculate contributions.
