Change could soon be on the way for Sammamish’s fire services.
Redmond-based consultants FCS Group recommended June 5 to the City Council that the Sammamish withdraw from its partnership with Eastside Fire & Rescue and contract without the organization for services.
Prompted by a 20 percent cost increase for services over the last five years, the City of Sammamish contracted FCS to review the city’s partnership with EF&R.
“We hired FCS to do the study because we owe our taxpayers that kind of due diligence,” City Manager Ben Yazici said. “Fire service is our biggest expense, comprising 24 percent of our annual operating budget.”
The study determined Sammamish’s annual contribution to EF&R has grown from $4.9 million in 2007 to $5.9 million in 2012.
Among other concerns, FCS highlighted that Sammamish supplies 28 percent of EF&R’s funding but receives only 18 percent of the service calls. That’s because the funding model is based on the assessed property valuation of the five partners — Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, District 10 and District 38 — rather than the amount of service received.
The contract option, FCS said, would allow Sammamish to shift to a more service-based model. Through contract negotiations, the city would be able to set predictable costs.
FCS worked in cooperation with a Technical Advisory Board made up of three former City Council members – Kathleen Huckabay, Lee Fellinge and Ron Haworth. All three backed the contract approach and were present at the Council meeting when FCS’s Peter Moy shared the report.
“We do not think that the partnership governance model will adequately serve the long-term interests of the Sammamish tax payer and its citizens,” Fellinge told the Council. “The EF&R partnership model will not provide the desired quality of governance nor appropriately control long-term cost, nor provide needed innovation.”
Sammamish’s current contract with EF&R ends at the end of 2014, and if the city plans to break from the partnership, they are required to give 12 month’s notice. They got an early jump on the process to explore all its options before entering another seven-year agreement with EF&R and giving EF&R and its partners ample warning if they decide to make a change.
“We’ve given ourselves a lot of time to make a thoughtful, informed decision,” Yazici said. “And if the Council does decide to make a change, I’m very committed to making sure the negotiations produce a win-win situation for all parties. We want everyone to experience a smooth, methodical transition.
“The report says that a contracting relationship would be most beneficial because it would provide EF&R flexibility in determining the level of service it offers Sammamish. It would also help maintain a regional system and avoid EF&R layoffs.
Fire Chief Lee Soptich said EF&R is currently reviewing the FCS study and is waiting to see whether the Council accepts the recommendations.
“If the Council directs the city staff to propose a contract to the EF&R Board, the directors will determine if it’s in the agency’s best interest to be a contract provider,” Soptich said. “The EF&R Board has indicated a willingness to consider contracts so long as there are no subsidies and expectations are clearly spelled out.”
If the city and EF&R are unable to negotiate a contract relationship, FCS recommended two other options. The second choice would be to contract for services with the Redmond Fire Department and the third choice would be to start a city fire department.
The Council asked Yazici to bring the recommendation back to them in a resolution for their June 18 meeting. They are expected to discuss the recommendation at that time.
