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County approves fire district contract with higher per-call fees and seasonal pay options to retain firefighters
Summary
Sweetwater County commissioners approved an updated memorandum of understanding with Sweetwater County Fire Protection District No. 1 that raises per-call billing rates by $100 per tier and instructs county staff to include optioned increases to seasonal firefighter pay to stay competitive with federal agencies.
The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners approved on May 6 an updated fire protection agreement and a schedule of increased per-call rates with Sweetwater County Fire Protection District No. 1.
Scott Kitchener, chief of Fire District No. 1, said the district reviewed billing for 19 chargeable calls in the prior year and determined fuel and staffing costs sometimes left the district close to or below break-even on certain runs. "Once we did all that, we figured out the fuel cost and all that. It was really close to us losing money on certain calls," Kitchener said. He proposed increasing each billing tier by $100; commissioners approved that change.
The board also approved a loaded hourly-cost option to cover seasonal firefighters the district provides to the county. Kitchener said the district typically hires eight seasonal firefighters for county coverage and faces difficulty retaining them because federal agencies offer substantially higher seasonal wages. He proposed two pay-options: a modest flat-dollar hourly increase or a percentage-based raise tied to a base firefighter rate; he and Commissioner Slaughter discussed linking future seasonal pay increases to county cost-of-living adjustments to avoid repeated requests.
Why it matters: the MOU formalizes billing and staffing arrangements that replace the county’s former in-house fire department with a mutual-aid/contracted structure. The change lets the county use the district’s engines and seasonal workforce while the district bills the county for calls and seasonal payroll costs. Commissioners said the arrangement preserves mutual-aid capacity across the county.
Key details from the meeting: the contract’s per-call tiers were each raised by $100; the district reported 19 billable calls last year; the district typically hires eight seasonal firefighters to cover county needs but filled only six positions last summer due to recruitment difficulties; seasonal burden is charged as a loaded payroll cost and includes FICA and workers’ comp.
The board’s motion approved both the revised contract rates and the seasonal loaded-cost Option 1 for 2025, and authorized the chairman to sign the agreement.
Ending: Commissioners discussed future communication and the value of the partnership; they approved the MOU unanimously and asked staff to monitor program costs and seasonal retention.
