Fire service leaders outline RFP for countywide operational study and recommend raising assistance fund cap

Kenny Dunn, deputy chief administrative officer and co-chair of the Fire Service Strategic Planning Committee, told the New Castle County Public Safety Committee on March 10 that the committee will start a request-for-proposals process for a countywide operational study of fire and basic life‑support services and will appoint a fire‑service designee to work with a county designee on scope, timetable and deliverables.

"We're going to start the process for an RFP for an operational study, countywide on the fire and BLS service within the county," Dunn said. He told the committee the strategic planning group has prioritized recommendations into high, medium and low categories and has brought in subject‑matter experts from procurement, IT and land use to shape options.

Why it matters: Dunn said the study is intended to examine staffing, response models and shared services across the county's 21 fire companies and to inform budget and operational decisions. The committee also recommended increasing the cap on the Fire Service Assistance Fund from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000; Dunn said an ordinance reflecting that change has already been introduced for later consideration.

At the meeting Dennis Godek, chair of the New Castle County Financial Advisory Board, summarized recent and planned fire‑service spending. "Last year's budget, even though the $3,000,000 was a one time interim funding for salaries and benefits, was the most money that the fire service has ever received from New Castle County in one budget," Godek said, adding that the total referenced in his remarks was about $9,700,000 for the year discussed.

Godek and Dunn also described work to centralize special‑operations capabilities — hazmat, decontamination, surface/water rescue, collapse/confined‑space and high‑angle rescue — including a new identification and communications process, centralized recertification records, and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and DEMA for training and equipment support.

Dunn said the executive order that created the strategic committee was amended on Jan. 21, 2026 to change quorum rules (from five to seven) and that the committee amended its bylaws to move the final reporting date from March 1, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027 because the original deadline proved infeasible. The committee meets every other week and will hold a meeting on March 11 at 2 p.m., available in the large conference room and on Teams.

Council members praised the committee's work and asked for meeting invites; one member, Mr. Street, raised broader concerns about the police accountability board and said he hopes to see progress in the coming months.

The committee's next steps are to finalize the RFP scope, timelines and deliverables for the operational study and to continue work on EMS billing options, which may include a county RFP for shared billing services.