Consultants find consolidation of Livingston and Park County rural fire services operationally and financially feasible; commission receives study

Livingston City Commission received a feasibility study Dec. 17 examining consolidation of the city’s paid fire and EMS services with Park County Rural Fire District No. 1 and voted to place the study on the city record.

The report by Fitch & Associates, summarized at the meeting by consultant Ian Womack, concluded a consolidated system would be operationally feasible and, under the study’s assumptions, financially sustainable if the rural district extended its mill levy into the city. The consultants recommended adopting a differentiated response standard (an eight‑minute travel standard for urban areas and an 18‑minute standard for rural areas), changes to shift schedules to reduce overtime costs, and improved EMS billing and data collection.

Why it matters: The city provides countywide ALS and ambulance transport and relies on EMS revenue for a large portion of fire department funding. A consolidation that shifts fire and EMS governance to the rural district would move funding out of the city general fund and into ad valorem taxes collected by the district; that could free roughly $1.2 million in city general fund dollars under the study’s financial scenario, and would change which elected body oversees fire and EMS operations.

Key findings and recommendations

- Demand and performance: The consultants analyzed 2022 incident data showing about 2,500 calls countywide (roughly seven calls per day), with EMS accounting for about 80% of calls and longer average on‑scene times (roughly 51 minutes for EMS vs. about 24 minutes for fire). Within the City of Livingston the study measured a ninetieth‑percentile travel time of roughly 7.4 minutes; the rural district’s ninetieth percentile was roughly 30.2 minutes. The combined system measured about 15.1 minutes at the ninetieth percentile.

- Staffing and schedules: The study recommended the city consider moving from a four‑platoon to a three‑platoon model for line personnel to reduce overtime and increase efficiency; the consultants estimated such a change could free staffing capacity (for example to staff a dedicated interfacility transfer unit) while maintaining daily coverage.

- Finance and EMS revenue: The city’s FY24 budget figures cited in the presentation were roughly $3.9 million total funding for fire and EMS, including $2.9 million in EMS revenue and about $1.3 million from the general fund. The consultants applied an 80/20 cost allocation (EMS/fire) to better reflect workload and identified interfacility transfers (IFTs) as a potential revenue source to create dedicated transport capacity.

- Merger scenario: Under a hypothetical merger where the rural district extended its levy into the city, the study estimated the district would collect roughly $619,000 in additional ad valorem from city property value, producing a potential combined operating fund of about $4.1 million versus the city’s FY24 operating amount of about $3.9 million.

Public comment and staff input

Livingston Fire personnel and chiefs spoke during public comment. Battalion Chief Jonathan Gilbert and City Fire Chief Josh Chabalowski both told the commission they did not dispute the study’s technical findings but stressed that merging organizations with different cultures (a paid, career city department and a largely volunteer rural district) requires careful planning, attention to personnel impacts and community outreach.

Commission action and next steps

The commission voted to receive and file the feasibility study. The motion (mover: Vice Chair Newitz; seconder: Commissioner Schwartz) passed unanimously. During deliberations commissioners asked staff to pursue public listening sessions and to report back to the commission with what is learned; City Manager Grant Gager said he would coordinate sessions and would notify commissioners if quorum rules required. Commissioners also directed staff to pursue administrative recommendations from the study (billing, data collection and other “low‑hanging fruit”) and reserved any formal policy decision about consolidation for a later meeting.

What the decision is — and is not

The commission’s vote was procedural: it places the study in the official record and allows city staff to use the report as a basis for further work and public engagement. The city did not vote to merge services or change governance. The report’s consolidation scenario would require formal policy steps, outreach and possible voter or legislative actions before any transfer of authority occurred.

Ending note

Commissioners emphasized protecting current staff and involving the public and Park County Rural Fire District in future conversations. City staff and the consultants said the next immediate steps are targeted administrative improvements and publicly posted listening sessions to gather community input before any policy choices about consolidation are made.