Tentative contract reached for MLFD study
After about a year of discussion, Moses Lake city officials have signed a tentative contract with a Seattle firm to analyze whether to keep the Moses Lake Fire Department as it is or make changes to the service model.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — Whether or not to convert the Moses Lake Fire Department to a different operating model and, if so, what it should be, will be the subject of a feasibility study due to start in November. Moses Lake Fire Chief Art Perillo said Tuesday that a proposed contract with Berk Consulting, Seattle, is under review.
“We have a tentative date for a kickoff meeting of Nov. 10,” Perillo said.
Perillo said the study is projected to be completed by spring 2026. The study follows about a year of discussion by the Moses Lake City Council, looking at ways to cut expenses in light of two years of deficits in the city’s general fund. Mike Ganz, the city’s former interim fire administrator, analyzed MLFD earlier this year and recommended further study of three options. The city could maintain its current municipal department, convert MLFD to a separate fire district within the city limits, or join with one or more other agencies to create a regional fire authority, also known as an RFA.
Perillo said those are the options that will be analyzed during the feasibility study. The exact completion dates will be determined during the meeting Nov. 10.
A regional fire district would consolidate one or more agencies into one district, which would require a vote of residents within the affected districts. It starts with a planning committee of three elected officials appointed by the agencies participating in the proposed RFA.
If the proposal included levying taxes or fees, it would require 60% approval from voters to pass. If it were approved, it would be operated by a three-person board, either a separate board elected by RFD voters or elected officials from the participating fire agencies.
City Manager Rob Karlinsey said in June that the rules for a municipal fire district are somewhat unclear, particularly regarding the governing body's identity. That would have to be clarified, he said.
Ganz said in June that, while state laws had recently been changed to allow the formation of municipal fire districts, Moses Lake would be one of the first to try it. Under the current proposal, the new fire district boundaries would be the same as the existing city limits, but would be a completely separate district.