Roy, Riverdale officials consider shifting fire protection to Weber Fire District

FARR WEST — Two Weber County cities, Roy and Riverdale, are looking to move fire protection in the locales to the Weber Fire District, essentially shifting the operation of their respective fire departments to the special services district.

While the Riverdale and Roy fire departments would end, the services they provide and their facilities would continue under the management and control of the Weber Fire District, or WFD. The WFD, based in Farr West, levies its own taxes and currently provides fire protection to Farr West, Hooper, Huntsville, Marriott-Slaterville, Ogden Valley, West Haven, Uintah and the unincorporated parts of Weber County.

Riverdale City Attorney Steve Brooks described the potential move, which is advancing but not yet complete, as a way to bolster fire protection. The change would also transfer emergency medical services in the two cities to WFD personnel.

"For a small city the size of Riverdale, it is extremely difficult to maintain a fully functional and staffed fire department. We cannot afford to have extra guys around for back-up, and if one of our guys gets sick or takes vacation, it leaves us short-handed. A unified department is better able to spread resources around, both equipment and personnel, and always remain staffed at the necessary locations and times," he said.

A rep from Roy, Weber County's second-largest city with 39,000 inhabitants, wasn't immediately available for comment Friday. Riverdale is home to around 9,000 people.

Leaders of each city formally declared their intent last June to pursue annexation into the fire district and WFD Chief Britt Clark said talks are underway to formalize terms of the transition, which could potentially take effect in January. Public hearings on the issue were held on July 14 and the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office would ultimately have to sign off on the change.

"Fire districts are created to create better fire service. The idea is they take a lot smaller towns and they pool them together so they can afford a fire service," Clark said. "Unfortunately, fire services are not cheap. Everything about them is expensive and so it's hard for smaller cities to afford a full-time fire service."

Notably, a larger department serving a larger population base or geographical area could be better positioned financially to acquire specialized equipment that a smaller department might not be able to afford. Given the larger area it covers, a larger department would also theoretically have more potential use for such equipment than a smaller operation.

For taxpayers in each city, city property taxes could drop as funding for fire protection is removed from the budgets of the two locales. However, WFD levies its own property taxes to cover its costs and property owners would get a new line item on their tax bills representing their share of fire district costs. Clark suspects the upshot would be lower firefighting costs, but the impact on property-taxpayers isn't crystal clear given the different funding sources for fire districts and municipal fire departments.

"Service districts can only gain revenue through property taxes. Not all cities fully fund their fire departments just off property taxes. A lot of them may supplement it with sales tax and different things," Clark said. "So it's a little bit harder to really pin down what does this cost property tax-wise."

Brooks hopes the change, if enacted, would end up being a wash for taxpayers, with the new WFD taxes offset by the drop in municipal property taxes brought on by ending municipal fire protection.

According to WFD estimates, the owner of a home worth $504,000 in Riverdale, the average, would pay $360.64 per year in property taxes to the fire district starting next year if annexation occurs. The owner of a home worth $439,000 in Roy, the average there, would pay $314.13. Shifting of fire protection in Roy has been part of the heated discussion in the city about boosting property taxes.

'Should get better'

Consolidation of fire operations has been an on-and-off topic of discussion in northern Utah.

Leaders in Sunset in 2017 opted to end the Davis County city's small volunteer fire department and turn fire protection over to the North Davis Fire District, which serves West Point, Clearfield and Sunset. Likewise, officials in South Ogden, Riverdale and Washington Terrace have held discussions in years past about combining their fire departments, though nothing has come of the talk.

If the Roy and Riverdale consolidation occurs, WFD, aside from taking over operations of the two cities' fire department facilities, would likely take on their employees. Clark envisions maintaining current levels of fire protection, if not improving on service.

"That's a really big issue for them, is that they don't have their fire service reduced, which as a fire chief, I agree," Clark said. "It should get better."

Brooks thinks the change could benefit the fire district, given the specialized expertise of Riverdale firefighters.

"Our fire department is very good, plus they are one of three departments countywide that is trained and equipped for heavy rescue and water rescue," he said. "I believe both of those elements, coupled with our location and resources, help to strengthen the fire district throughout the county."

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