Talks of forming a regional fire authority in Marysville have cooled off.
The city and the fire district met for months to talk about creating a fire authority, a new government body that would levy taxes and provide fire protection and emergency medical services in the city and surrounding area.
Fire authorities have become a fashionable idea in Snohomish County that often flounders on the details. Such a move requires the consolidation of money and power. The talks in Marysville got hung up on the issue of who would be in charge. The current fire board is run 50-50 by the city and the fire district. The city wanted more representation on the fire authority board.
“It was not a contentious discussion. It just wasn't moving forward,” city administrator Gloria Hirashima said. “We felt we needed to explore and analyze things further.”
Since 1991, the city and the Marysville Fire District have worked together under a contract. On July 30, the city sent the fire district notice that it intends to terminate the contract, which requires three years' notice.
Now the city is considering starting its own fire department from scratch.
It still could form a regional fire authority or seek a new contract with the fire district. The current contract is not financially sound, Hirashima wrote in the July letter.
“It is clear from our recent joint discussions that both parties recognize a need for change,” she wrote.