Newport council unlikely to support EMS district

NEWPORT — If Monday night’s Newport City Council workshop on a countywide Emergency Services District proposed by Pend Oreille County Commissioners is any indication, the city has decided it would not support the formation of a district.

Newport Mayor Keith Campbell and city councilors Nathan Longly and Mark Zorica said EMS services were working fine as they were. They made their comments after City Administrator Abby Gribi gave her update on the formation of a district, essentially telling the city council that an EMS district would create another layer of government over EMS services.

“I’m not seeing a reasoning behind taking away the control at a very local level,” Gribi said. SPOFR had some outstanding fire commissioners, she said, some of whom were at the meeting that night. She wanted the city councilors’ thoughts on the district, as well as to hear from SPOFR officials.

Newport is the only municipality in the county that had not yet been annexed into a fire district, Gribi said, but the end goal of its current contract with SPOFR is annexation.

Gribi said an EMS district could levy up to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. If it did, that would take away from what fire districts and municipalities could levy in taxes for EMS.

In light of the recent legislative actions in Olympia, Campbell said he didn’t see a need for more taxes.

“We don’t need any more taxes and ultimately that EMS district is going to end up being another tax,” Campbell said.

Longley said any additional level of government would require money for administration.

“When you have a level of government that is not needed, that is just wasted money,” he said.

“That sounds like a perfect reason not to fix something that’s not broken right now,” Zorica said.

Robert Rosencrantz, county commissioner from District 2, which includes Newport, attended the meeting. He has been heading up the county’s EMS district efforts for well over a year.

Longly asked him if the current county commissioners had any fire or EMS experience.

“No, and that’s one of the reasons we want to have no control over the local fire districts,” Rosencrantz said. If commissioners vote to form a district, the plan is to have an advisory board made up of fire chiefs.

County commissioners can’t levy a tax by themselves, Rosencrantz said.

“The Board of County Commissioners has zero ability to implement a tax,” Rosencrantz said. “It’s up to the voters and 60% of those would be required.”

He said no tax is currently contemplated.

“But it is a possibility but 60 percent of the voters that would have to say yes,” Rosencrantz said.

SPOFR commissioner Ed Funkhouser questioned how the district would be funded without a tax.

“Is it taking the existing dollars we have allocated, the $1.25 (per $1,000 assessed valuation) that our voters currently pay, does that move over to the EMS?” Funkhouser asked.

Rosencrantz said that question assumes that county commissioners want to change the way EMS services are delivered, taking control away from the local fire districts. Funkhouser said that commissioners may not want to, but will have control over the districts and the money by default.

Rosencrantz disagreed and encouraged Funkhouser to come to the public hearings and make his case to the county commissioners. The hearings are set for June 24 in Metaline and July 1 in Newport. Both hearings start at 1:30 p.m.

Longly said the only reasons for an EMS district were for control or money. Rosencrantz said he disagreed with that assessment.

SPOFR Fire Chief Shane Stocking and SPOFR commissioners made the case that SPOFR was best equipped to provide both firefighting and EMS. Stocking made the point that multiple ambulances were often being dispatched to EMS calls. SPOFR commissioners said they had risen to the occasion to take the place of the failed private ambulance services in the south part of the county.

The meeting was heated on occasion. Zorica said some of the fire districts in the county were a “(expletive) show.” He asked Rosencrantz if he recognized how well SPOFR was performing. Rosencrantz said he did.

“SPOFR, I give them full credit for delivering high quality services,” Rosencrantz said. He wasn’t as supportive of SPOFR’s communication. He said communication was important to make sure that across geographical and business lines, someone is making sure there is “optimal performance and delivery of those services to everyone in the county. That’s why this district is under consideration.”

Gribi took offense to Rosencrantz’s statement.

“What I heard is offensive to every elected fire commissioner,” Gribi said.

“That you guys are not capable of doing your jobs and that you need someone to oversee you to make sure you talk like adults.”

She said that was one of the most offensive things she had ever heard one elected official say to another elected official. Rosencrantz said that wasn’t what he said.

“I will simply register an objection to your mischaracterization of my remarks,” he said.

Gribi sought direction from city councilors on what to do next. Should she and Stocking put together written comments for the EMS hearings?

Longly said he wanted to hear what the public thought first. Zorica suggested input could be taken at Coffee with a Chief, a forum Stocking put on in mid-March. After the meeting, Stocking said the first couple weeks in June might be a good time for another Coffee with a Chief.

After the meeting, Rosencrantz said the Monday night meeting was “really helpful” and let him know he had not done a good job communicating the benefits of a county-wide EMS district.

“SPOFR is entitled to have a SPOFR-centered perspective and Newport is entitled to a Newport-centered perspective,” he said. Rosencrantz’s perspective was looking at the entire county.