Milton’s fire future looks dim

The Milton City Council was reminded of the harsh reality facing the city’s fire department at a study session March 8.  

“We can’t continue funding services at the current level without some sort of revenue increase,” Finance Director Maria Pierce told the council. “It might be time for the city to get out of the fire business.”

City staff and council members discussed the two biggest issues facing the city fire department – staffing shortages and lack of advanced life support (ALS) services for residents.

Last month, council members authorized cutting one position ($81,000) from the fire department’s budget, as part of a package to reduce the city’s deficit by $357,000. The city’s total deficit exceeds $600,000. Fire officials argue that they were unaware the cuts were up for debate and that city staff did not notify them that fire cuts were an option.

“At no point was there an inkling that there would be fire cuts,” East Pierce Fire District (EPFD) Chief Jerry Thorson said. “At no point were these cuts discussed with us by city staff.”

In the past, the city included three full-time fire department positions in the budget. The department has been able to successfully staff two of these positions since 2008. The third position has been filled using individuals from the volunteer firefighter program. Volunteers who filled in during the third-position shift were being paid for hours they worked. This position was not filled with a full-time employee in the past, because of the possibility of future layoffs, according to Milton Fire Chief James Jaques.

“This was a temporary solution that has just gone on for too long,” Jaques said.

He added that the fire department relies on the third position to prevent one firefighter from being on duty alone during a normal scheduled shift. This schedule also allows the fire department adequate coverage for staff vacation or sick leave, without relying on volunteers. Also, state law requires a minimum of two firefighters responding to a basic call. In the event of an actual fire, four firefighters are required,

per engine, to enter a burning building.  

Having a three-person department has also permitted the fire department to extend shifts from eight-hour to 10-hour days. Jaques explained that extending the work hours has allowed the department to have adequate coverage for the city during high-volume call times, usually between 7-8 a.m. and 4-5 p.m.

“It’s been really hard to get volunteers to cover these hours, because most don’t live in the city,” Jaques said.

Fire officials suggested reinstating a part-time firefighter position, so that peak call times could continue being covered and employees could continue working 10-hour shifts. Most council members favored reinstating the position, but were hesitant to backtrack on cuts made to the city’s budget.

“We did something we thought fixed the budget,” Councilmember Leonard Sanderson said. “If we reinstate this position, where do the additional cuts come from?”

Councilmember Bob Whalen reminded the council that their job is to reduce the city’s deficit, not add to it.

“If we backtrack, it makes everything we’ve done in the past few weeks a waste of time,” Whalen said. “We don’t have any money in the budget for you (fire department) and the city hasn’t offered us any alternatives.”

Lack of emergency services

An ongoing issue with the city has been its inability to provide ALS. Currently, the city does not employ paramedics and must call private ambulance companies for residents who need the service. If a private ambulance is not available, the city must rely on neighboring fire departments or districts to provide this service to residents.

Fire officials say that the department has continued to struggle with increased call volume and that those calls are coming from farther away. Thorson also noted that because of the department’s inability to provide ALS, firefighters are having a hard time providing service for even the most basic calls.

“The level of service your neighbors are getting is better than the level of care your citizens are getting here,” Thorson said. “You are setting a level of service for life and safety in your community and it’s going to have an impact when the bell hits and no one is there to answer that call.”

Solving the service problem

City staff presented several options for council members to consider. The first would be to maintain the status quo and do nothing. This option would keep service levels the same and contribute to a city deficit of more than $2.6 million by 2015.  

The second option would be to implement a voter-approved levy lid lift of $1.45 per $1,000/ assessed home value. The city would put the issue up for public vote in August.

If voters approve the levy lid lift, the city would contract with East Pierce Fire District for full fire service and ALS, while working on ways to ultimately annex the entire city’s fire department to the EPFD. Currently, the district serves the cities of Bonney Lake, Sumner, Lake Tapps, the Ridge communities, South Prairie, Wilkeson and Edgewood.

“It seems the city’s only option for annexation would be with East Pierce,” Thorson said.

If the city were to annex with EPFD, residents would pay $1.50 per $1,000/assessed home value to the district for fire and emergency services. By state law, this is the maximum amount residents can be taxed for services from a fire district. However, if the city were successful in annexing into the EPFD, the city would not collect revenue from the current, voter-approved $0.20 EMS levy. Those funds would be collected by EPFD.

The city of Milton currently lies within two counties, Pierce and King. If only the Pierce County portion of the city is annexed into the EPFD, the city’s EMS levy would cease. However, the city residents who live in the King County portion of Milton, will continue to pay $0.30 per $1,000/assessed value for King County’s EMS District. This money would be reimbursed to Milton and would be used to fund a service contract with the EPFD to provide services to that potion of the city.

The council is expected to vote on drafting a resolution for the ballot at their March 15 meeting.

Whalen expressed concerns over the amount of taxes left over for other city services, if the fire department annexed with EPFD.

“I feel like were putting all of our eggs into one basket for fire services without regards to our other services,” Whalen said. He expressed hopes that the fire department and the city could provide alternatives or cuts in different areas, before the council decides to reinstate a firefighter or annex to EPFD.

“I don’t see any option other than moving forward with East Pierce,” Councilmember Todd Morton said. “I don’t like taxes, no one does, but we need to move forward and provide services to our  citizens.”

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