SANDPOINT — While the city of Sandpoint may have withdrawn from the Selkirk Fire Joint Powers Agreement, Sagle and Westside fire district officials said their organizations remain committed to a working relationship between their departments within the JPA.

"We believe this unique fire service model to be a proven success, providing coordination, cost savings, and a higher level of service to our communities," said Jeff Armstrong, who was selected to serve as the JPA's fire chief by the Sagle and Westside boards.

Armstrong currently serves as the interim fire chief for the Northside Fire District, a role he will continue with the JPA board's support.

The JPA was launched in January 2015 as a joint effort between the Sagle and Sandpoint fire districts as a way to provide a regional approach to fire protection. Westside joined the district in October 2016.

When the JPA was first formed, officials said it allowed the region’s fire departments to deliver improved fire protection, public education, and community outreach by collaborating as one unit with multiple districts. 

However, concerns over lost autonomy, complex administrative management, and financial costs led to Sandpoint officials to question whether the agreement still benefitted the city.

Those questions led to a parting of the ways when the Sandpoint council voted 3-3 to give 60 days notice that it planned to leave the JPA with Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm voting to break the tie in favor of leaving. The vote came after Sagle and Westside fire board members agreed to extend the JPA through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, while the city voted a few weeks earlier to extend the agreement for a year.

“We believe this to be the easiest term as related to the agreement, yearly budgets, and planning,” members of the boards said in an April letter to the city.

In voting to leave the JPA, Grimm said budgeting complications and the legality of future entities were behind his decision. 

"The big thing though is, even with the three-month extension, even if they come back with a legally supported enhanced JPA that council wants to participate in, the budget process is such that we are moving forward at this point with a budget as an independent fire department — a chief with nine firefighters," Grimm said at the April 17 Sandpoint City Council meeting. "We’re starting the budget … and if there is not revenue from them, we can’t build in fake revenue.”

The hope had been that an enhanced JPA could be created, addressing the city's concerns and adjusting the organizational structure, and evaluate the success of the new structure.

However, in a letter responding to the districts' proposal for a shorter extension, Grimm said that it did not align with the city's budgeting process, as the city is required to publish a budget for fiscal year 2025 before the clarification of what an enhanced JPA model might look like, how it would legally function and what specific benefits would be recognized by Sandpoint. 

“… As a result of the proposed Sept. 30, 2024, extension to the existing JPA agreement, the city of Sandpoint must budget for FY25 without Sagle and Westside and without shared JPA expenses or employees,” Grimm said in the letter. Likewise, the districts also acknowledged that they would budget independently for their operations, staffing, and related costs of providing fire services within their jurisdictions. 

JPA officials said Selkirk Fire continues to seek ways to provide adequate service in the most cost-effective manner; however, "funding and staffing continues to be a challenge."

Staffing levels and emergency response plans will remain the same, including providing automatic aid to the city of Sandpoint. Over the coming year, Selkirk Fire officials said they will begin a strategic planning process to determine the next phase of the agreement. That means talking to stakeholders, and seeking ways to improve service and more effectively serve the community. 

JPA officials invited the community to attend local fire commission meetings or contact Selkirk Fire officials to share their input.

"We want to hear from you and understand more of what you expect from your fire districts," Armstrong said.

Information: selkirkfire.com