Board sets standards for chief
July 15, 2008
By Ari Cetron
Fire Department will be judged on finances, performance
Lee Soptich, chief of Eastside Fire & Rescue can now be judged according to his agency’s performance. The EFR Board of Directors on July 8 adopted a series of agency goals, including items involving such things as response times and finances.
However, the board rejected one standard that would have explicitly called on EFR officials to seek to expand its size.
EFR is a cooperative agency that serves Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation, and parts of unincorporated King County.
People within the service area pay EFR for fire and rescue services.
In January, agency officials discussed expanding to include Fall City, Snoqualmie Pass and the Snoqualmie Tribe in its eight-year old partnership.
They said that adding areas may allow them to spread out some costs, resulting in lower payments for each member jurisdiction.
At the time, EFR Director Lee Fellinge, also mayor of Sammamish, opposed the increased service area, saying that the proposals may carry more cost than benefit for current members.
The issue came up again last week when the board considered its goals for the coming year.
One goal, suggested by EFR officials, called for exploring potential partnerships in the name of lowering costs and improving service.
It was Fellinge who led the charge to remove the words “explore potential partnerships” from the stated goals.
The city of Sammamish, he said, is not interested in expanding the scope at this time.
Fellinge also said that the board has spent too much time and energy discussing additional partnerships, instead of analyzing what they already do.
“That has let other things go by the wayside,” he said.
He said that while he favored the idea of better service and lower costs, by enumerating one specific way to do that, it might give the impression that the board favor expansion above other alternatives.
The words were struck from the set of goals.
As a result, while EFR officials will not be specifically prohibited from exploring partnerships, it will not be considered necessary.
The board also discussed that one goal calls for a cost increase of less than 5 percent in coming years.
Both the city of Issaquah and the city of Sammamish have asked for a 5 percent reduction in payments they will have to make.
Director Maureen McCarry, also an Issaquah City Council member, said she was hesitant about the call for a less than 5 percent increase, noting it was quite different than a 5 percent cut.
Although both cities have requested the reduction, a formal letter to that effect has not yet reached EFR, so the agency is not prepared to act on the request.
The board will likely consider the requested reduction during budget deliberations, slated to begin July 17.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233 or samrev@isspress.com.
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