Thoughts on annexation into Regional Fire Authority

The future of fire and emergency medical services is a big decision facing the community and will be discussed Tuesday, Dec. 3, during a special council meeting starting at 5 p.m. There is a public hearing on the same topic during the 7 p.m. regular council meeting.

Edmonds City Council chose annexation to the South County RFA as the preferred alternative on May 28, 2024, and the proposed details of that arrangement are now available for review and discussion.

While the specifics are new and being discussed by the City Council for the first time on Tuesday, there has already been a lot of community conversation on the topic, and some of the statements being made warrant context and clarification. I address them here.

• Ownership of Fire Stations

Per the RFA Plan (Amended), if Edmonds annexes, Edmonds will transfer stations No. 16 and No. 20 to the Regional Fire Authority.

Per RCW 52.26.100 (2)(a), transfer of real property from a city providing fire service to a regional fire authority (also considered a municipal government) is the default norm. The taxpayers paid for that asset for its firefighting purpose –  and the asset is continuing to be used for that purpose for the same beneficiaries.

Transfer is distinguished from sale in legal and code language.

It is for this reason that Lynnwood, Mill Creek, and Brier effected no cost transfers of their stations in their RFA mergers and annexations, and why the documents handle our two unencumbered stations as transfers.

Edmonds has one station (17) excepted from transfer because it is part of the Maxwell-McGinness Public Safety Complex and does not have land associated with it as a stand-alone entity.

This station will be retained by the City and a no-cost lease negotiated for the RFA’s use, as a fire station only, until the RFA may choose not to use it.

Mountlake Terrace has a similar situation, and is the only other city to have a fire station with a no-cost lease and retained station ownership in their RFA pre-annexation agreement.

• Edmonds has the right to reacquire the stations if the RFA no longer needs them as fire stations:

Per the pre-annexation agreement, the fair market value at the time of this transaction will be credited fair market value at the time City of Edmonds transferred that station to the RFA (adjusted for inflation).

Unless there has been a significant capital investment in a station by the RFA between annexation and return of the station, City payment to re-possess our properties will be nominal.

• Levels of Service (LOS) and Costs for Edmonds residents:

Contract alternatives with the RFA and another local provider, Shoreline Fire, have annual contract costs on par with or more than the taxes associated with annexation into the RFA.

No matter how provided, costs for fire and EMS service in 2026 will be considerably higher than our current contract which terminates at the end of 2025.

Only resurrecting our own fire department and accepting a lower level of service has potential to cost any less than annexation in the long term; in the short term, resurrecting our own department is the most expensive option as we would be paying for contracted fire services while accruing costs associated with the startup.

If council decides that it is in the community’s best interest to annex, there will be a council vote within a month to put annexation on the ballot in April. In the end, the public decides this issue at the ballot box.

Please take the time, starting now, to become an informed voter on this issue. We must ensure that those who live, work, and visit Edmonds are protected with reliable, high-quality emergency medical care, fire suppression, and hazard response.

Vivian Olson
Council President, City of Edmonds
Speaking only for myself as a single councilmember