Medical Lake hears fire chief warn of potential 9-1-1 disruption as Spokane-city funding split looms
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Summary
Fire Chief Erbauch told the Medical Lake council that call volumes are up and warned that a legislative change and the city of Spokane—s termination of an interlocal agreement could disrupt 9-1-1 services after Jan. 1 if parties don—t agree on apportioning emergency-communications revenue.
Fire Chief Erbauch briefed the City of Medical Lake council on the fire department—s workload and an unfolding dispute over regional emergency dispatch funding that could affect local 9-1-1 operations.
"Looking at just over 630 calls total for the year," Erbauch said, adding he expects the department to finish the year with "just over 700 calls." He described a busy wildfire season and cautioned councilors to prepare for winter heating-related structure fires.
Erbauch described a policy change that will take effect Jan. 1 after the city of Spokane terminated an interlocal agreement for the regional emergency communications center. He said state legislation reallocates the 0.1% sales tax that funds emergency communications and requires the city and county to agree on what is an "equitable apportionment." Erbauch said the two sides have not agreed and that the disagreement could have concrete effects on who provides dispatch services.
"The reality of the situation is that city is not currently in position to be able to provide the full suite of services that the regional center offers today," he said. He also said, "we could see public-safety impacts related to 9-1-1 services come January 1" if an agreement is not finalized.
Erbauch laid out the competing positions: the city argues revenue should follow where sales tax is generated; 20 other agencies favor an apportionment based on how much each agency spends or population served. He said the county has proposed using sales-tax origination as the primary metric for the larger 0.1% sales-tax pool, with phone-excise tax apportionment handled differently.
Erbauch said the county and city remain in "collaborative discussion" and that, if they cannot agree, the legislation provides for judicial resolution. He urged councilors that the priority is protecting community service continuity while the parties work toward a negotiated solution.
Councilors thanked Erbauch for the update and asked staff to continue monitoring negotiations and report back. The update did not include a formal council direction or vote.
