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County staff proposes weighted four-factor method to split Jackson Hole Fire/EMS costs; commissioners generally supportive
Summary
County staff recommended using a combined, weighted approach to apportion Jackson Hole Fire/EMS costs between the county and the town, proposing weights of 35% incident counts, 35% population served, 15% staffing and 15% fleet; commissioners asked staff to refine numbers and the treatment of indirect and capital costs and take the proposal to the Town of Jackson.
County staff recommended a combined, weighted methodology to apportion costs for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS at a workshop Aug. 25, recommending four factors with suggested weights: incident counts (35%), population served (35%), staffing (15%) and fleet (15%). The board directed staff to refine the analysis and present it in joint talks with the Town of Jackson.
Jody Pond, county administrator, told commissioners the consultant ESCI had previously presented options and that staff recommended focusing on four factors most relevant to Teton County—s operational reality. "Using a combined and weighted factors is a really great way to look at how we go about assigning percentage to town and county," Pond said. She proposed the 35/35/15/15 split and said staff would replace the one-year incident snapshot in the report with a five-year rolling average.
Fire Chief Mike Moyer reviewed each factor and its pros and cons. He said call volume reflects operational workload but not prevention or administrative work; assessed valuation applies mainly to property-loss fire protection and correlates poorly with EMS; response-area or road-mile calculations are a poor fit for a county in which most land is federal and sparsely developed; staffing and fleet are clear cost measures but apparatus and personnel are shared across jurisdictions.
Commissioners asked for clarifications. Commissioner Gardner asked whether staffing and apparatus would be locked to specific stations for budget purposes; Chief Moyer and Pond said the consultant model attaches staffing and apparatus to assigned stations for cost-allocation calculations while acknowledging that in daily operations personnel and equipment are frequently shifted across the valley to meet needs.
Commissioners generally voiced support for the combined-weight approach. Commissioner Probst and Commissioner Carlman remarked that response-area and assessed-valuation methods are poor fits for Teton County and endorsed the staff—s recommended factors. Commissioners asked staff to include an agreed approach to indirect costs and a consistent method for capital/building-maintenance allocations across joint departments.
Next steps: staff will run the updated calculations (using a five-year incident average) and take the proposed method to the Town of Jackson in joint discussions, with an expected joint review in November. Pond asked the board whether staff should proceed with the recommended approach; commissioners indicated consensus to move forward to the town with the proposal and to return with updated numbers and suggested indirect-cost approaches.
Ending: County staff will continue to refine the model with a five-year incident average, add a proposal for indirect cost treatment and a capital/maintenance allocation framework, and will present the updated methodology in upcoming joint meetings with the town.
