Otsego Council votes to end contracted fire agreements, move toward staffed city fire department

The City of Otsego City Council voted 4–1 on April 27 to notify neighboring cities that Otsego will not renew contracted fire-protection services in 2027, a key step in the city’s plan to operate a staffed local fire department.

Council action followed a detailed presentation by Fire leadership on staffing, response times and station readiness. Chief Mike Scott told the council the city has finalized a staffing plan that includes three full-time captains, six full-time firefighters and up to 20 part-time firefighters phased in; the city obtained a state incident-reporting number that makes Otsego eligible for training reimbursements and certain grants. “Response time to fires and EMS calls is critical,” Chief Mike Scott said, noting the new Otsego station is about a six-minute drive from the city’s central facilities compared with 11–12 minutes from some neighboring stations.

Supporters argued that having an on-duty crew at a local station reduces turnout and travel time and enables local prevention services such as life-safety inspections and community outreach. Chief Scott described plans for recruit training (part-time recruit training beginning after July 4; in-house academy for full-time hires later in the year) and said the department aims to be fully operational around Jan. 1, 2027.

Opponents cautioned that exiting the current regional contract model could reduce immediate coverage in outlying neighborhoods. A council member presented a third-party analysis that, the speaker said, showed addresses outside a five-road-mile “safety zone” would increase from 229 to 1,028—“a 350% increase”—if the city cancels the contracts, and warned that moving from contracted coverage to a single station could lead to higher insurance premiums for affected households. The speaker said they could not support the change and announced they would vote no.

Councilmembers who backed the non-renewal cited mutual-aid and dispatch agreements in development, conversations with neighboring chiefs, and the ability to staff local prevention services such as code-related fire marshal duties. Chief Scott said neighboring departments have been briefed and that Otsego will continue to participate in mutual aid; he also said staff are negotiating county dispatch and auto-aid arrangements to reduce coverage gaps.

The council also approved two related administrative actions that follow the transition plan: hiring two temporary Community Risk Reduction (CRR) positions to assist with station setup and community events, and approving Pay Application No. 16 for $927,569.05 to pay for construction work at the new fire station. The CRR hires (Gregory Hubbard and Larry Hudson) were approved on a 4–1 vote. The pay application passed 4–1.

What happens next: The city will send formal non-renewal notices to Albertville, Elk River and Rogers, continue mutual-aid and dispatch negotiations, proceed with hiring and training steps this summer and fall, and return to council with personnel proposals (captain and firefighter hires) and any final contract or interlocal dispatch agreements. The administration set an operational target of early 2027 once hires complete training.

The council convened other business after the votes and scheduled a special meeting for May 11 to finalize city goals.