Battle Ground fire contact up for bid

What does it truly cost to provide fire service? That’s what city of Battle Ground officials want to know.

It’s been almost 25 years since the city of Battle Ground has tested the open market for fire service protection. Since 1992, Battle Ground has contracted with Clark County Fire & Rescue (formerly Fire District 11) to provide fire service to its citizens. Recently, the city sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for fire and emergency services and bids are due June 1.

“We are just finding out if we’re getting the best deal; that’s all we’re doing,’’ said Battle Ground Mayor Shane Bowman. “Some of the firefighters were concerned we didn’t like the job they were doing. That wasn’t it. They were doing a phenomenal job. We just want to make sure we’re getting the best deal for our citizens.’’

On Dec. 29, 2014, the city of Battle Ground exercised an option in its six-year contract with Clark County Fire & Rescue (CCFR), notifying the department that it would withdraw from the agreement on Jan. 1, 2016, one year prior to the expiration of the deal. Soon after, the city issued the RFP, inviting all agencies in the area to submit a bid to provide fire service to Battle Ground.

Bowman said the reason is simple – a larger and larger percentage of the city’s budget is going to pay for the fire service it provides to its citizens.

“By the end of this year, we will be at $2.28 million and we would have been at almost $2.5 million by the time we finished the contract at the end of 2016,’’ Bowman said. “When I took office in 2012, we were paying a little over $800,000 less than we are now.’’

Dennis Mason, fire chief for CCFR, said he understood the city’s decision.

“I don’t think any of us (at CCFR) were excited about it, but I understand how they got to that point,’’ Mason said. “They haven’t indicated at all that the city is unhappy with Clark County Fire & Rescue. We’ve been providing service to Battle Ground for 25 years. They’ve never gone through the process before and they want to know that they’re getting a good deal.’’

The numbers

It’s important to point out that the city of Battle Ground agreed to the terms of its current contract with CCFR. The current contract was a result of negotiations between the city and the department and it took effect at the beginning of 2011.

In that first year, Battle Ground paid $1,385,254 for its fire service. That increased to $1,571,288 in 2012; $1,739,057 in 2013; $1,999,175 in 2014 and $2,252,097 this year (2015).

The city of Battle Ground taxes its citizens at the rate of $1.83 per thousand of assessed property. Of that, $1.50 goes to CCFR for fire services. The difference goes into the city’s general fund and is used for police protection, roads and other expenses.

Battle Ground hasn’t always paid CCFR the rate of $1.50. In fact, 2014 was the first year the city reached that rate. In 2011, Battle Ground’s rate was $1.05 per thousand, followed by $1.20 in 2012; $1.35 in 2013; and $1.50 in 2014 and 2015.

If Battle Ground is using more of its budget to pay for fire service, that means less is left over for other services. Of the certified levy dollars ($2,747,180) collected by the city (at the rate of $1.83 per thousand) in 2015, $495,083 will go into the general fund. In 2011, $1,043,562 of the $2,428,816 collected went into the general fund, so that amount was more than cut in half in the last four years.

The $1.50 is the same rate paid to CCFR by the cities of Ridgefield and La Center, who are annexed into the CCFR district, and the city of Woodland, which currently contracts with the department for fire service.

During the negotiations for the last contract with Battle Ground, CCFR officials made it clear that they expected the city to be at the same rate as everyone else for fire service.

“I think the (CCFR) Board of Commissioners made it pretty clear that they’re not willing to provide services in different parts of the area we serve for a lesser amount,’’ said Dennis Mason, fire chief for CCFR. “It took us many years to put a plan together to get the city of Battle Ground up to $1.50. For several years, they were paying significantly less than taxpayers in other areas of the district.’’

Other cost factors

Bowman said there are other factors that could affect what the city of Battle Ground should pay for its fire service.

First, the city owns its own fire station and it wasn’t until 2014 that CCFR began leasing the building from the city. Beginning in November 2014, the city entered into a lease with CCFR in which Battle Ground receives $2,500 a month from CCFR for use of the building.

Also, the city owns two pump trucks that it provides for CCFR to use. Battle Ground owns a 2005 truck that it paid $405,166. In 2013, Battle Ground purchased another pump truck for $488,598, and that truck was delivered in 2014. The city’s annual payments on the truck are $79,915.60 on a 7-year contract.

Because the city provides the station and the two pump trucks, in addition to other possible variables, Bowman and other city officials ask, “does it cost the same amount to serve the city of Battle Ground that it does to serve other areas?’’

“How much money are we really paying?’’ Bowman said. “What are we getting for our money? That’s why we decided we were going out to bid.’’

RFP or RFQ?

The city has structured its RFP a little different than most. Initially, the city has made it more of a Request for Qualifications.

Bowman said that after the city reviews the details of service that a potential provider proposes, then it will be easier for the two sides to arrive at a cost for that service.

“What are your qualifications? How will you service us?’’ Bowman said. “When we answer those questions, then we can go back in and see where we are as far as a dollar figure.’’

While the city hasn’t had any complaints about the service CCFR has provided, City Manager John Williams did make it clear that the current process would include an examination of the service provided to the city by each potential provider.

“One of the issues the council (members) raised when making the decision to opt-out of the current contract is that they wanted to look at service levels,’’ Williams said. “It’s not an RFP, it’s an RFQ. We’re asking how would you provide fire service and meet these standards for the city of Battle Ground?’’

Regional Fire Authority

The city of Battle Ground’s contract for fire service is not necessarily impacted by the outcome of the voters’ decision on the proposed Regional Fire Authority (RFA) in the April 28 Special Election. Even though Battle Ground opted out the RFA, CCFR can still enter into a future contract with the city to provide fire service.

“We didn’t like the RFA because it was locking us into that $1.50 rate,’’ Bowman said. “I don’t know if the RFA is going to be good or bad (if it passes).’’

If the RFA is to be approved by the voters as it currently is structured, Battle Ground couldn’t join at a later date without another vote according to Mason.

“The RFA moved forward without Battle Ground in it; that’s what went to the voters,’’ Mason said. “To come along after the voters approved the plan without Battle Ground, I think we would have to go back to the voters to approve the plan. It’s doable, but it’s not something that would happen over night.’’

Battle Ground’s options

Battle Ground has a few options to consider in the coming months:

• The city could enter into a new contract with CCFR.

• The city could enter into a contract with a different provider.

• The city could annex into CCFR (would require a vote of the citizens).

• The city could create its own fire department.

After opting out of the proposed RFA and its current contract with CCFR, it’s highly unlikely that the city will do an about-face and seek to annex into the CCFR district or wish to join the RFA.

And, starting its own fire department in the next seven months seems like a mighty tall order for the city. That seems to point to this process resulting in a new contract between Battle Ground and CCFR or another provider.

“Maybe we go it alone; maybe we start our own fire department,’’ Bowman said. “I would think that would only be as a last resort. Those are the things we will have to balance out over time. I just want to make sure we’re getting the best deal for the citizens.

“I would think that we would have decision by mid- to the end of July, so they are ready to take over Jan. 1 or we just stay the same,’’ Bowman said. “We’ve had quite a few different agencies request information.’’

Bowman said Battle Ground has received inquiries from the Vancouver Fire Department, East County Fire & Rescue and Fire District 3. None of the agencies, including CCFR, have submitted a proposal thus far.

“We’ve had interactions with a number of agencies who were just seeking clarification,’’ Williams said. “They’re not due until June 1. We don’t have any actual respondents yet, just interest. When we review those, that will be when we look at how they propose to provide staffing and then we can get into contract negotiations.’’

Williams has put together a committee to review potential proposals. On that committee, Williams will be joined by two council members, Finance Director Maggie Smith, City Clerk Kay Kammer and Police Chief Bob Richardson. Williams will then be responsible for negotiating a contract with the new provider and then members of the Battle Ground City Council will have to approve it.

CCFR still a strong candidate

Both Williams and Mason have said interactions between the city and CCFR have remained cordial during the process.

“I meet with the chief and deputy chief on a monthly basis,’’ Williams said. “We’ve had our bumps that we’ve gone over but we’ve worked through those. This process does not preclude them from being the one who gets the contract. It’s a process that we want to go through to put an even better contract in place.’’

Mason said CCFR will be a bidder on the Battle Ground contract.

“We are going to submit a proposal by the June 1 deadline,’’ Mason said. “We have been in the process of putting our package together. They’re not asking for any pricing at this point, so it’s a little different process.’’

While Mason said the CCFR Board of Commissioners will likely be reluctant to move off the going rate of $1.50 per thousand of assessed value, he did say there could be other areas of the contract that could be up for negotiation, such as reimbursing the city for the two pump trucks and continuing to lease the fire station from the city.

“There is value to the fire district for those two engines; we recognize that,’’ Mason said. “I think that will be part of the deliberations at some point.’’

Mason made it clear that CCFR wants to be the one to provide fire service to Battle Ground in the future.

“Obviously, we do not want to lose Battle Ground,’’ Mason said. “It would cause us to take a step back and adjust our operations, including laying off a number of firefighters that we hope would be picked up by whoever picks up the contract.

“I feel pretty good about us being the provide for the city in the future,’’ Mason said. “That being said, there are no guarantees.’’