Ellsworth City council directs staff to begin negotiations with two fire districts

Ellsworth City council voted to begin negotiations aimed at updating long-standing reimbursement agreements with neighboring fire districts, after staff and the fire chief said the existing arrangement is outdated and has shifted growing costs to city taxpayers.

The interim city administrator outlined the problem, saying the contract has been in place since the late 1980s and that districts have not been paying their historical reimbursements. "So now we're in the 40th year of our contract at the same rate as 1987 when it first started," the interim administrator said, noting the city is absorbing rising costs for equipment and protective gear. He recalled the agreement terms discussed historically — a flat $10,000 figure or a '5 mills' formula — and gave an example of township contributions he said amounted to about $2,500 each in recent arrangements.

Fire Chief Ralph told the council the city's service and ISO rating are assets to neighboring districts, and cautioned that any move to increase district payments could prompt districts to seek other providers. Council member Moon moved to "begin negotiations to develop new contracts" and to report back to the council by the first meeting in May; Council member Renard seconded the motion. The mayor called for the vote and the motion passed.

The council did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion was announced as approved and staff were asked to pursue negotiations, with termination of the current contracts presented as a possible step if talks do not progress.

Next steps: staff will open discussions with Ellsworth District No. 1 and Fire District No. 2 and prepare a report for the council's first May meeting.