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Bluff consultant urges separate fire service district, outlines $225,000 startup cost
Summary
Volunteer firefighter Gary Lichtenstein told the Bluff Town Council that the volunteer department needs paid administration and a new funding structure and proposed creating a special service district or service district to limit town liability and pay personnel; he presented preliminary first‑year costs (~$225,000) and revenue options including wildland deployments and a per‑water‑meter fee.
Gary Lichtenstein, a long‑time Bluff volunteer firefighter who led the town’s 2023 strategic visioning for the fire department, told the Bluff Town Council at a work session that the department cannot meet future demands under its current county administrative structure and recommended creating a special service district (SSD) or service district to operate the department independently.
Lichtenstein said the town needs a paid administration to support volunteers, more cross‑trained crews in structure and wildland firefighting, and equipment upgrades such as a ladder truck. He presented a preliminary first‑year budget figure — “225,000, almost 226,000 in the first year” — and a personnel/base operations subtotal of “$158,770.64,” and warned that startup expenses would be higher in years one through three before stabilizing.
“This is something I’ve been working on since October 2023,” Lichtenstein said. He told the council a district tied to the town could be set up so that “the town council has no financial liability for the budget of the fire department” while the creating entity controls governance and board membership.
Lichtenstein described revenue options the town could use instead of, or in addition to, property taxes. He said the department could generate revenue with a wildland program (out‑of‑jurisdiction reimbursements, contracted deployments, and specialized services), inspection fees, or a small fee per water meter. Using the town’s water‑meter count as an example, he said a $40 per‑meter fee combined with other revenue streams could cover projected costs.
He urged the council to consider the county’s recent decision to divest its emergency services arrangements and to decide whether the town should evaluate a locally governed SSD now rather than accept county terms without a town vision.
Council members asked clarifying questions, and several said they supported further study. The council did not take a formal vote on creating a district during the work session; Lichtenstein offered to draft a resolution and to work with staff to prepare a standalone meeting to explore options in depth.
Next steps: Lichtenstein said he would work with town staff on a resolution if the council directed him to do so, and council members asked staff to schedule a follow‑up discussion to review the legal and financial details and to solicit public input before moving to formal action.
