Work begins on merger plan for fire districts

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Fire commissioners with both East Jefferson Fire Rescue and Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue have officially agreed to develop a plan that may lead to a merger of the two departments.

Any merger of the departments will hinge on a ballot measure that would be presented to voters who live within the boundaries of the districts, said East Jefferson Fire Chief Bret Black.

Earlier this month, during subsequent meetings of the board of fire commissioners for both departments, fire commissioners agreed to full integration of the two departments. 

The boards directed department staff to come up with a plan for an eventual merger.

Black said an outline for the work ahead was being created.

“In the next couple of weeks we’ll have some more information,” he said. “We’re putting the framework together right now.”

“There is a lot of work ahead,” Black noted. “The community and media can expect plenty of engagement as we capture input, gather information and put the steps in place to provide even better service by joining forces. Our collective goal is to be as efficient as possible with our resources while continuing to enhance the emergency services for our communities.”

A potential merger between the two fire districts has been a topic for years. That talk took on added urgency as East Jefferson Fire Rescue started providing management services to Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue last year via an interlocal agreement.

Under the interlocal, signed by both fire districts in July 2021, East Jefferson employees “direct, control and support” Port Ludlow’s operations, including firefighting operations, fire protection and prevention, rescues, and hazardous material responses.

East Jefferson’s fire chief has managing authority over staffing and employee responsibilities, day-to-day operations, union agreements, employee discipline, allocation of resources, and implementation of policies and procedures.

The one-year contract expires Sept. 1.

Black said a formal team of volunteers will guide the development of the merger plan.

“We’re kind of building the plane as we’re flying through the air,” he said.

“We’re working on it really hard and really fast,” Black added.

A timeline is expected within the next month.

Port Ludlow has been the smaller department historically, and currently has 13 employees, while East Jefferson has 47.

Last year, Port Ludlow had 937 calls for service while East Jefferson tallied 4,821.

“We’re getting busier and busier,” Black said.

“We went up by 13 percent last year,” he said of East Jefferson’s call load. “That’s a huge leap in workload for our people and our workforce. We did not grow by 13 percent.”

The collective goal of a merger would be to provide services as efficient as possible with the resources that are available, Black said, while continuing to enhance the emergency services for the community.

After the merger plan is finished, a merger would not go on the ballot until a resolution calling for the election is passed by both fire district boards.

Voters in both districts would then need to pass the proposal.

“It still has to be approved by the residents,” Black stressed. “We don’t have the ability to wave a magic wand and just merge.”