Sandpoint council OKs preliminary budget

SANDPOINT — Wednesday night was full of difficult decisions for City Council members as they finalized the preliminary budget.

Fire department staffing turned out to be the major issue of the night, as community residents turned out in large numbers to request that the city keep all its career firefighters. After a lengthy public forum followed by even longer council discussion, the regular meeting concluded after three hours with all professional firefighter positions still on the books. As for the budget itself, about $34,000 still needs to fall into place before the final version is passed in the fall.

The primary hope in retaining all fire personnel hinged on a $25,000 contract between the city and Bonner County Emergency Medical Services. While the contract has yet to become official, Bonner County EMS Chief Rob Wakely and Bonner County Commissioner Mike Nielsen both said they supported the deal and were confident in its success.

“Chief Tyler and I have had our differences, and I think everyone knows that, but there’s not a sliver of difference between us on this,” Wakely said.

The proposed contract will help support the fire department’s response to EMS calls within the city. According to Wakely, the quality of the professional firefighters and their ability to respond promptly to emergencies made the difference between life or death in some case.

Several community members turned out to express their support for the fire department personnel and their continued involvement in EMS calls. In a letter to the council, Sandpoint’s volunteer firefighters said the loss of professional staff could impact everyone associated with the department.

“A reduction of one or two career firefighters would tremendously reduce our fire department’s ability to timely deploy resources to prevent or mitigate adverse events that occur in risk-filled environments,” the letter read.

Supporters were concerned that fewer than three career firefighters on duty at all times would hurt services, saying it would result in longer response times and less efficient work at the scene of an emergency.

“You’ve got an outstanding unit here,” Nielsen said. “Don’t tear it up.”

However, council members were also concerned about the sustainability of the budget. Councilwoman Jamie Brunner reasoned that if they didn’t take strong enough measures now, they could be in the same position next year.

Nevertheless, the weight of community support helped sway the council to pass the preliminary budget without cutting a firefighter position.

“It’s very difficult for me to cut life safety services before we cut our non-necessary services,” Councilman Justin Schuck said.