Sagle Fire, county patch up differences

SANDPOINT — Bonner County and the Sagle Fire District have mended fences.

Bonner County commissioners approved a new contract Tuesday with the fire district following an ongoing series of negotiations that grew tense at times.

The county notified the district in June that it would not renew its contract for EMS services in October, largely due to the district’s inability to respond to medical calls because its crews were tied up on fire-related calls.

Strife over the county’s insistence on the installation of a camera and event data recorder in a county ambulance, in addition to disagreements over vehicle paint schemes and personnel squabbles didn’t help matters.

The county seemed poised to establish an EMS facility in Sagle, but county commissioners opted to put that plan on hold and try and resolve its differences with the district.

The commission approved a six-month, $42,500 contract that has an initial 90-day review period.

“We did it on a six-month basis because of the issues that were raised,” Commissioner Mike Nielsen said, referring to the response issue that was raised during the negotiations.

Sagle will also keep the billings it receives from the EMS calls it response to, Nielsen said.

Sagle has resolved to structure its staffing routines to ensure that its personnel will be able to respond to an EMS call even if crews are contending with a fire call.

The annual cost of the contract, if it’s renewed, is $85,000, which is substantially less than the $111,000 the district proposed in the latest round of talks. However, the contract will still enable the district to avoid layoffs and add three positions through a Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing For Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant.

The loss of the EMS contract placed the SAFER grant in jeopardy.

“The absolute beauty of this whole thing is that we are now going to be able to respond to more incidents in a more timely manner than ever before, and we will be able to do so in a fashion that is compliant with national standards,” Sagle Fire Chief Robert Webber said in an email to The Daily Bee.