Letter addresses accounting issues and emergency services unification
By Eric Valentine
A letter from the mayor of Ketchum to the commissioners of the Ketchum Rural Fire District (KRFD) spells out the steps the city is ready to take to seek what it calls “a North Blaine County solution” for providing emergency services to visitors and residents.
Specifically, Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw said he will:
Form a stakeholder group tasked with exploring consolidation options
Develop a timeline for a unification agreement between Sun Valley, the rural fire district and Ketchum that would start Oct. 1, 2019
Request the rural fire district extend its contract with Ketchum through Sept. 30, 2019
Bradshaw’s letter also addressed the tenuous relationship between Ketchum and its rural firefighting partner, stating that it was the city’s intention “to restore (the rural fire district’s) confidence in the administration of the City and the operations of the Ketchum Fire Department operations.”
Confidence shrank last week when the rural commissioners called for an audit of the city after learning that payments from the federal government for fire equipment usage was wrongly diverted into Ketchum’s general fund. As of press deadline, Ketchum was conducting an internal audit as to how much is owed. Ketchum Rural Fire District Commissioner Jed Gray estimated the amount at $5,000 to $6,000.
The conciliatory approach by Bradshaw comes on the heels of the rural fire district’s termination of its contract for joint emergency services with the Ketchum Fire Department, an agreement that began in 1957. Ketchum relies on the engines of the rural district as well as funding for 3.5 firefighting positions. That relationship took on additional stress when the Ketchum City Council unanimously voted down a merger proposal that would have brought Ketchum city, Ketchum rural and Sun Valley under one emergency-services umbrella to provide fire, police and ambulance coverage to the north Valley.
After Ketchum made its decision, the rural fire district asked if Sun Valley would like to join forces instead. Sun Valley responded with a proposal that is now under consideration by the district. Commissioners have until June 28 to make a decision.
All this triggered the following bullet points in Bradshaw’s letter:
“We want to demonstrate to you, and other stakeholders, that the City of Ketchum will be a good partner in the future. Actions we will be taking:
Audit historical practices for the use of KRFD’s apparatus—in particular to determine the amount of funds the City collected from wildland deployments generated from outside the county;
Review current standard operation procedures (SOP) to ensure that KRFD receives timely updates of any incident within its district or with its apparatus;
Pursue acquiring additional apparatus that upgrades our current fleet and thereby reduces our use of the KRFD’s apparatus for City’s use;
Audit the allocation of costs associated with the contract to increase visibility as to how contract revenue has been spent;
Pursue a new fire station that will contribute to the infrastructure and readiness of north Blaine County; and,
Provide monthly updates with KRFD on our progress.”