The Enumclaw Fire Department seems confident with a new plan to keep itself solvent for the near future.

EFD Commissioners met with the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority on May 28 to discuss what sort of financial changes the department could make in order to not just stave off running on a deficit, but continue to grow.

The meeting was starkly different than the May 21 and April 21 meetings, with commissioners trading anxiety and frustration for certainty that the department is, in fact, not in dire straits.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some hard decisions the department will have to make over the next several years, and likely some even harder ones in the far future.

The situation EFD is facing is a looming budget deficit. According to the Regional Fire Authority, the department — on it’s current course — would reach a tipping point in 2029 and then be operating with a $6 million deficit by 2035. This would empty the department’s reserves, which is recommended to be at least 30% of the general budget.

Commissioners were clearly worried that they would have to go to the voters for a levy, something the Enumclaw community has made clear in recent elections is something they would likely not consider, or even have to lay off staff. Commissioner Angie Stubblefield said this was “traumatizing” when she had to do so back in 2015, when the department was also facing budget issues after a levy proposal failed.

But the message from the RFA was clear — the department will not have to lay off staff and will not have to go to voters for a levy for the near future.

Instead, the RFA had some other ideas for how the department could save money. Most were readily accepted by commissioners, but they also appear to be considering how disregarding one would affect the predicted outcome of their annual revenue growth or decline.

The bigger changes include making interim EFD Fire Chief Ben Hayman the official fire chief and ending the current contract with the RFA, which has partially aided the district with various administrative tasks. It’s expected for Hayman to officially assume the title of chief in June.

However, ending the contract would mean Hayman would be both responsible for daily department operations and administrative duties because the RFA recommends not filling the currently empty deputy chief position.

The only position the RFA recommended the department fill is the open human resources position, and to freeze any other positions for the near future.

Additionally, overtime should be capped at 9% of salaries and benefits.

Other capital expense changes could save the department a little more than $2.27 million, if projections are correct.

This includes removing a training prop, delaying some vehicle purchases, and moving up some vehicle purchases to mitigate rising costs.

These sorts of savings, with a little bit of luck of assessed value growth averaging out between 5% and 10% for the near future, will allow the department to continue to serve the community as it is right now with two aid cars and one fire engine ready to go 24/7.

NO DEPUTY CHIEF?

Almost as soon as the RFA representatives left the room, the Enumclaw Fire Department commissioners began discussing if and when the department can hire a deputy chief for Hayman.

Commissioner Stubblefield recalled in 2015 how she begged former Chief Randy Fehr to hire a deputy chief in order to help him with the work load.

“By the time he decided to do it, he was already well into being well-done,” Stubblefield said. “And then jerky… we don’t want you to be jerky,” she continued to Hayman.

But unlike buying a rig or personal protective gear, hiring an employee is an annual cost, one that gets more expensive every year.

Hayman said he isn’t taking this conversation lightly, because the department’s budget or his workload will be greatly affected by whether or not the department hires a deputy chief.

“What is the earliest we could do it?” he asked. “What chief would want to come here if there was a concern the position couldn’t be afforded? We need to show stability for our organization.”

Commissioner Eric Heintzinger suggested not attempting to hire a deputy chief this year, but they should see if a hire can fit in the 2026 budget.

BEYOND THESE CUTS

While spending changes and position freezes will help bolster the department’s general revenue stream and savings, those funds won’t be close to enough when it comes to expanding the district’s footprint — especially in creating a new fire station.

EFD has been stressing how the calls for service have increased 20% since 2015, from 2,234 calls annually to 2,798.

But new information from the Regional Fire Authority also shows that it’s not just the amount of calls that matter, but when the calls come in, as there are times an aid car is more likely to already be out on a call. This means the department’s second aid car, or an outside agency, has to respond to an emergency instead, and the latter can result in a longer response time.

An RFA presentation on April 21 shows that between 2020 and 2023, one of the department’s aid cars has become more and more utilized every passing year, especially in the mid-morning to early afternoon.

For example, in 2020, the aid car was in service about 17% of the time around noon on average that year, considered in the “high utilization” range.

But that’s increased to more than 19.5% in 2021, and 20.5% in 2022 — a percentage of usage the RFA labels as “maximal utilization.”

In 2023, the aid car was out nearly 29% of the time on average that year, which the RFA determines is “over-utilized” and approaching “extremely over-utilized.”

The hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. that year also range between “high utilization” and “maximal utilization.”

“Optimal utilization” ranges between 10% and 14%.

At this time, it’s unclear how the department wants to tackle addressing these higher call volumes and the over-utilization of its aid cars, and it plans to update its Capital Facilities Plan to reflect the department’s current needs in the near future.

But it’s previous Capital Facilities Plan from 2016 proposed building a larger fire station.

The current station was built in 1968, and received add-ons in ‘83 and ‘99 to accommodate new hires as Enumclaw’s population has grown.

However, the current station cannot expand any further, and at the same time, Enumclaw’s population grew from 9,300 in 1999 to 12,600 last year.

Attempting to build a larger station would almost certainly require the department putting a bond measure on an election ballot; passing a bond would require 60% of voter approval.