City of Othello, ACFD 5 restart fire contract negotiations

OTHELLO — Officials from Adams County Fire District 5 and the Othello City Council have returned to the table to see if the two sides can come to an agreement on a new contract for fire services. Council members have scheduled a special meeting Thursday to discuss the city’s options.  

Council member Chris Dorow said at Monday’s regular council meeting that he thought an agreement was possible. 

“If we were able to get an affordable, long-term agreement with good offramps that weren’t contingent on personalities and opinions, maybe we could be in a better place for all of us,” Dorow said. 

Council members voted against extending the existing contract with ACFD 5 in August 2024. The contract expires April 30 of this year. At the time, council members voted to start a municipal fire department, but three new council members and a new mayor were elected in November 2025. A fourth new council member was appointed in December 2025. 

Mayor Ken Johnson said before the election he would support reopening negotiations between the city and the district. Council members and ACFD 5 commissioners met Feb. 19 to discuss extension of the contract while the two sides negotiated on a longer-term deal. 

Fire district voters approved an increase in the district’s tax assessment, called a “levy lid lift,” in November. The district has a maintenance and operations levy, and as property values increased, the M&O assessment decreased. The levy lid lift allowed the district to increase the tax assessment to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Fire District 5 chief Tom Salsbury said fire commissioners offered to extend the city’s contract through the end of 2026 at the same tax rate as that paid by district residents.  

Salsbury estimated during the Feb. 19 meeting that the contract price would be about $1.2 million. That drew an objection from council member Angel Garza. 

“You’re pretty much charging for eight months what you would’ve gotten (under the previous proposal) for a whole year,” Garza said. 

The contract rejected by council members in 2024 was based on 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which was about what district residents were paying at the time. That contract was proposed after mediation and included annexation into the fire district.  

Dorow said Monday that he and interim city Administrator Spencer Williams met informally with ACFD 5 officials Feb. 20. 

“We covered a lot of ground,” Dorow said. “We covered a lot of places and talked about what we all are looking for. And ultimately, both the fire department and us are looking for a long-term solution to our fie concerns, and one that provides equally for everyone.” 

Dorow said ACFD 5 officials could be open to a long-term contract, and one of the options could be a lower assessment in return.  

Council member Marc Spohr said he thought the council’s immediate concern should be the contract extension. 

“I like the direction, and it sounds really good, but I still think we need to focus on the next 60 days,” Spohr said.