Brigham City tables proposal to impose availability charge for fire, ambulance services

Brigham City on Sept. 18 tabled consideration of a resolution that would establish an availability charge (a cost-recovery measure) for fire and ambulance services provided outside the city’s corporate limits, following an extended staff presentation and questions from council members.

City staff said Brigham City’s emergency response system is covering a large geographic area and that rising personnel, equipment and facility costs have created a multi‑million‑dollar shortfall that is currently subsidized by Brigham City taxpayers. Staff recommended tabling the item so they can present the proposal publicly to neighboring jurisdictions and seek reciprocal agreements for mutual-aid billing.

Tom Euler, city administrator, and Brigham City Fire leadership outlined recent data and the staff proposal. Euler said the city responded to 2,706 incidents in the last fiscal year and that 74% of responses occurred inside Brigham City. Staff estimated an unrecovered subsidy of about $3,200,000 for fire and EMS services and added $600,000 in facility‑related cost allocation to illustrate full costs…