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Council presses county on fire-service payments as negotiations continue
Summary
During a general discussion, council members and staff reviewed a draft three-year fire service agreement sent to the county, disputed past funding levels and the city’s net costs for providing fire and EMS outside city limits, and discussed radios, ambulances and potential fiscal limits on service.
Salisbury City Council members and city staff used Tuesday’s general discussion to press the county over payment levels for fire and emergency medical services and to update each other on ongoing negotiations.
City staff said a three-year draft fire service agreement was sent to the county but was not included in the county executive’s budget. Staff added that the city had built a proposed multiplier into its budget that assumed $3,500,000 in county payments next year.
“The multiplier is built into our budget at the $3,500,000. That's what we thought we were going to get this next year and that's what we proposed to receive,” City staff (unnamed) said.
Council members said prior county payments have fallen short of the city’s costs. One councilmember (unnamed) said the county provided about $2,000,000 last year and that, on a percentage basis, the city spends “north of $3,000,000” and, at another point, “more than almost $4,000,000” serving county areas outside the city.
“We are a million dollars underfunded every year,” the councilmember said. “If we don't either have an agreement or we don't receive funding then calls for service stop beyond this point.”
City staff, however, cautioned that the city has been attempting to educate the county about the full cost of readiness and fixed operational expenses since October. Staff supplied updated figures on ambulance lease payments and said they would present a summary to the council at the next meeting.
Council members and staff also discussed equipment that affects both departments, including radios and ambulances. Staff noted that police radios have been bonded in prior procurements and that the city needs to confirm whether fire radios would meet the same useful-life assumptions before recommending bonding them. A staff member explained the rationale: if the city bonds equipment for 15 years, the equipment should reasonably be expected to last that long.
“Typically, the rule of thumb is if we bond something for 15 years, it needs to last for 15 years,” City staff said, adding that police radios often last 20-plus years.
Council members said they will finalize a draft letter and timetable before making any public announcement about changes to response policy or billing. Staff said legal would join a subsequent meeting to discuss potential arbitration and to identify whether additional legal funding would be required for a reopener.
City staff said they could share the draft agreement and updated financial numbers at the next meeting so the council could decide whether to send a formal bill to the county or pursue other steps.
The council did not take formal action during the discussion.
