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Resident outlines plan for Bluff Fire Department as county pulls back; urges town-created service district
Summary
Volunteer firefighter Gary Lichtenstein presented a vision for a reorganized Bluff Fire Department and recommended the town explore creating a special service district (SSD) or service district under Utah law to fund and govern a modernized, partly paid fire organization.
Gary Lichtenstein, a Bluff resident and longtime volunteer firefighter, told the Bluff Town Council at its works session that the town faces an opportunity and choice as San Juan County considers divesting emergency services.
Lichtenstein said a volunteer-only model that has run since the department’s founding in 1970 is increasingly unsustainable and described a multi-year vision developed during a 2023 strategic planning process. The plan calls for more certified personnel, a wildland program to generate revenue, 24/7 EMS and fire coverage and an eventual ladder truck to meet rising density and taller buildings.
Lichtenstein presented a preliminary first-year budget of about $225,000 for a town-run department and estimated personnel-plus-base operations at roughly $158,770.64 (his presentation described this as a data-grounded, back-of-envelope calculation). He contrasted those figures with the town’s recent property-tax receipts and warned funding a department directly out of town taxes would be a large share of municipal revenue.
As an alternative, Lichtenstein proposed forming a special service district (SSD) or service district under Utah law. He said such a district can be created by a municipality and be financially independent of the town’s general fund while still allowing the town to set governance and appoint an administrative control board. He identified possible revenue sources including per-meter fees, out-of-jurisdiction reimbursements, inspections, hazmat responses and a wildland firefighting program that contracts for work and generates revenue during deployments.
Council members asked clarifying questions about taxation and timing, and several expressed interest in exploring the idea further. Lichtenstein offered to draft a proposed resolution and said he would work with town staff and councilmembers who want to delve into details and legal distinctions among SSDs, service districts and fire protection districts.
No formal motion or vote was taken; council members agreed to continue the discussion in a future, longer session and suggested holding an informational meeting for the public if the council directs Lichtenstein to draft formal documents.
Lichtenstein closed by reiterating three questions for the council: whether Bluff can design a modern fire department, whether it can afford one (his view: not likely as a town department but feasible as an SSD/SD) and whether the council wants him to draft a resolution creating an SSD or SD for further consideration.
