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Goodland and Sherman County fire chief says joint apparatus purchase shows progress; recommends shifting city-owned equipment to county
Summary
Fire Chief Bridal James summarized the city–county merger, listed apparatus inventory and costs, and recommended transferring remaining city-owned vehicles to county ownership to simplify maintenance, insurance and driver qualification issues. Commissioners expressed support and requested follow-up on budget implications.
Fire Chief Bridal James told the commission the joint city–county fire arrangement has operated smoothly over the past two and a half years and highlighted a planned joint apparatus purchase that he described as the first joint engine procured by the city and county.
Bridal outlined the current fleet (including engine 1, ladder 1, ARFF and a hazmat/rescue unit), noted that some older apparatus remain (example: a 1999 engine and a 1997 aerial purchased used in 2013), and gave examples of parts costs — he cited a pump replacement at roughly $40,000 — to illustrate maintenance pressures on small municipal budgets.
The chief recommended transferring remaining city apparatus to county ownership so county employees could be sole operators, insurance administration would be simplified, and city personnel and clerical overhead would be reduced. He also suggested revisiting the budget contribution model and possibly modest rate increases to sustain operations.
Commissioners thanked the chief, asked for any outstanding contract dates that might affect budgeting, and generally endorsed further review of ownership transfer and budget impacts. Staff indicated they would check the contract dates and report back.
Next steps: staff to review contract dates and provide commissioners with budget and contract information to inform decisions about ownership transfers and long-term capital planning.
