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Umatilla Considering Hike To Fire Assessment

    The City of Umatilla is set to revamp fees for fire service inside the city, with costs expected to rise, in some cases by large amounts.  During a presentation during last week's meeting of the Umatilla City Council, members heard the results of a contracted fire study that calls for shifting the burden of financially supporting the town fire department to heavier users, while raising fees across the board.
    The city currently spends around $650,000 annually toward its fire department, which in addition to equipment supports paying two contracted staffers per twelve-hour shift.  As part of the study, the city looked at costs associated with raising staffing, with three different scenarios presented - all of which would push the department's budget over $1 million per year.
    The study looked toward raising the annual fire assessment, as the city has found the current rates are funding the department at an operational ‘break even’ level, without raising enough funds to either expand staffing or even set money aside for future equipment purchases.  The study presented a variety of options to the city council, all of which would provide a substantial increase to the department’s budget.  
    One fee structure would raise the department's budget to just over $1 million and keep staffing at its current level.  Another would raise $1.159 million and allow for one additional, 12-hour staffer.  A third option raises fees to $1.26 million and allows for a third staffer 24 hours per day. During Tuesday's meeting, Umatilla Fire Chief Shane Lanoue lobbied for extra funding for more staff.  Since the department is manned by professionals who are off from their other jobs, Lanoue said adding an additional person per shift would reduce the risk of the station falling into an unstaffed or understaffed situation and falling out of service.
    How the extra money is raised would be shifted in coming years, if the study's recommendations are adopted. Study results indicate the department is responding more frequently to nursing homes and other institutional locations than during a previous study, in 2018.  While responses to residential, commercial, and industrial locations has decreased on a percentage basis. While all users would see an increase under any of the proposals, more burden has been shifted to larger users.
    As an example, the residential fire assessment is currently $228.  Under three options under consideration, the fee could go as high as $362. Churches, which were previously exempted, would go as high as $.10 per square foot, and nursing facilities, previously at $1.80 per square foot, would swell to $3.44.
    As a result, the study indicated large users like the Recovery Village on Umatilla Boulevard would see its fee balloon from just under $28,000 currently to as much as $132,000.  The Lakeview Terrace life car community, the city’s largest single population center, would jump from just over $106,000 to as much as $203,000.
    However, increases could be smaller, as the study contemplated residential increase options to just $300 and $332 in addition to the $362 level.  In those scenarios, commercial, nursing, institutional, and other uses also saw smaller increases.
    The council is set to consider the new fee at its meeting on July 15, at which time members have voiced the desire to approve the highest presented fee structure.  This fall, during budget hearings, the council could move to reduce the fee if it was so inclined.
    For comparison, Lake County is looking to lower its fire assessment from $415 to $370 for residential units below 800 square feet.  For other residential units, the fee is expected to remain at $415.