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River Heights Council examines county fire-district voucher proposal as possible exit option
Summary
Mayor Blake Wright briefed the council on a county proposal to voucher back a portion of fire-district taxes to contracting cities and urged caution; councilmembers pressed for details on how voucher funds would be distributed and whether reserves could be spent only on fire/EMS.
Mayor Blake Wright told the River Heights City Council on April 21 that Cache County Executive Danes has floated a voucher program to resolve a perceived double-taxation issue for cities that contract for fire and EMS services. Wright said the county would collect a county-wide fire tax (a per-property amount cited as $74.52 in the executive’s figures) and then return a voucher to contracting cities intended to offset what those cities now pay separately for contracted fire protection.
Wright said the voucher proposal includes scenarios at different mill rates: at a proposed 60-mill increase the city would receive a modest voucher amount that roughly covers its $148,730 contract with Logan City; at 70 or 80 mills the vouchers would be larger but the funds would be placed in a restricted reserve that could be spent only on fire and EMS. “If they did 80 mills … we will have nothing to spend the money on,” Wright said, adding that River Heights would likely have no operational need to change the current Logan City contract and that setting aside large annual vouchers with restricted spending could leave the city stockpiling funds it cannot use for other priorities.
Council members pressed staff and each other about the many unknowns. Questions included whether voucher proceeds would actually reach residents, whether a truth-in-taxation requirement would negate any effective tax relief for homeowners, and how long the city could keep restricted reserves. “How do I know that all of our residents are gonna get their $74.52 back?” Wright asked, warning that the county’s math could leave residents no better off if the program is not structured carefully.
Officials also discussed possible local uses for a restricted fire-reserve, including shared equipment or contributions to a neighboring city’s station, but members said they needed clarity about permitted expenditures and legal commitments tied to the voucher fund before endorsing any change to current contracting arrangements. Public works and finance staff were asked to gather more precise projections and contract-language examples ahead of a follow-up meeting Wright said he would attend with other city leaders.
The council did not take a vote on membership in the county fire district. Wright said he would continue attending the county-level meetings and return to the River Heights council with additional information and recommendations.