When I was in office, I brought the issue of shared employees – people who work for the County but serve the state, such as clerks of the court, juvenile court employees, etc. – to the attention of the Idaho Association of Counties’ Justice and Public Safety Committee. There was a lot of friction surrounding the issue.

The short version of the shared employees story is that a committee was formed that included representatives of both the state and counties. I served on that committee. We met quarterly and peacefully hashed out template agreements that could be used by the state and the counties in order to better define the roles of each with regard to shared employees.

The EMS situation is no different. Things would be much better today, had the County worked WITH the fire districts in writing a new Ordinance.

As for my colleagues and me when I was on the commission, I suggested mediation and they refused. It does take willingness on the part of both or all parties to actually work out differences. With the proposed EMS Ordinance, I see that willingness from the fire districts, but not from the County commissioners and EMS administration. Therein lies the problem.

Honestly, this issue seems like one that could be resolved if the major player sat down and discussed the major issues. But from what I can tell, that’s not what anybody wants to do. At least were not talking about Bill of Rights-type issues. It’s good to be back in Idaho.

Competition is what makes business models work. Yours is either better than the other guy or not. County made a really bad decision on this one. To Thomas the Tank…you make several good points about the efficiencies that could be realized with a cooperative County wide system. However, the days of a house burning down across fire district lines ended a long time ago. We call them mutual aid agreements and they work well. In fact, sometimes too well. Everyone wants to respond to everything. As for the “unpaid and unprofessional” volunteers in Star. I will keep them every day of the week. We have increased our paid staff over the years, but our volunteers have been protecting us for quite a long time. They deserve our thanks, not our ridicule.

Frankly, being 15 miles away from this county’s closest full time paramedic station concerns me a whole lot more than the volunteer EMTs in Star. I challenge anyone to read the ordinance adopted yesterday and tell me how it made Star or any other place in Ada County a safer place to live. My take is, it just attempts to limit my options to try and increase the level of life saving service in Star. Unfortunately, Judy’s closing snipe about “we’ll see you in court” is where this will all end up. And we all know that will make us safer.

And Guardian, sorry for the short reply….but I am a politician…what do you expect.

As far as EMS and Fire, those two have been at each other’s throats for a long time. The same is true for BPD and the Fire Dept. I think the time for a peaceful resolve has come and gone, which is why the county is in this whole debacle. Neither side will back down from their fight and it is to the point of pure principle.

I will keep my comments short and sweet like Nemo did and say one last thing. EMS and Fire are doing a great job at what they specialize in, but I see where Fire is coming from. They want the latest equipment, they want to keep busy, and they want paid more…….but we must run the county like a business and be cost effective and lean. I think the county made the right decision regardless of how peaceful it was.

In one breath we want to maintain our “Idaho lifestyle” but in the next breath we want to measure up to the Seattle EMS system. I don’t see it as anything but wanting it both ways. Ain’t gonna happen! EMS can “lobby” all it wants, but the fact remains that folding the EMS system into the fire department makes the most sense for the taxpayer.

First it would eliminate all of the seperate fire chiefs. One would likely need to elect a chief much like a sherrif. Perhaps just one elected official to govern the three. Then appoint one sheriff or police chief, one EMS director and one Fire chief.

EMS is already functioning on a county wide system with one chief or director as is the sheriff. The elimination of so many chiefs would surely save a significant amount of money. Making one training department for Police, EMS and Fire would save money. The combined purchasing power for fuel uniforms supplies etc. would save money.

All Fire, EMS, and Police stations would be one in the same. Although PD does not really have stations in all locales per sey. The days of houses burning down because some one does not live in a fire district would be over. EMS and the sherrif do not have such a problem. There are no EMS districts. The county is the district. Sherrif is in the same boat as well. Property taxes would surely go down as all of the county would be incorporated into a metro or FIRE EMS PD taxing district one bill for all services for the entire county.

When the towns and cities here in Ada Co. were several miles apart this would not have made sense. Today can you honestly tell me where Boise ends and Meridian begins? How about Kuna and Meridian? Garden city and Boise? Would the cities give up their slice of the tax pie for the greater good? Probably not. I believe in some form or another this was one of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon task force. PD was not included in the Blue Ribbon task force but makes sense to me.

One of the other things that I hope this would alleviate is the unpaid Fire fighters and EMTs that respond in Kuna, Star and Eagle (and perhaps other districts). The region should have enough resources to stop this practice. Some one who does this line of work, in this large of an area should be paid, and professional.

The 2004 Big Sky Paramedics v. Sagle Fire Supreme Court decision makes an interesting point: “Municipal power is a classic example of derivative power. Because a fire district is a government subdivision like a city, a fire district possesses only the powers conferred on it by the legislature or which can be derived by necessary implication.” State v. Frederic. A county is also a government subdivision, so the same ought to hold true for them as well.

What can a fire district do? From Idaho Code: FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT 31-1401. PURPOSE AND POLICY OF LAW — SHORT TITLE. The protection of property against fire and the preservation of life, and enforcement of any of the fire codes and other rules that are adopted by the state fire marshal pursuant to chapter 2, title 41, Idaho Code, are hereby declared to be a public benefit, use and purpose.

What can County commissioners do with regard to ambulance service? From Idaho Code: 31-3903. AMBULANCE SERVICE — POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. The board of county commissioners shall determine the manner in which said ambulance service shall be operated, and is empowered to make expenditures from the ambulance service fund for the purchase or lease of real property and the construction of buildings necessary in connection with said service, to acquire necessary equipment for the operation and maintenance of said service, and to pay necessary salaries.

Fire districts have the explicit power to ensure “the preservation of life”. County commissioners, although allowed to form an ambulance district, levy taxes, and run a county ambulance district, do not appear to have any authority to regulate the provision of emergency medical or ambulance service by other government entities.

I am not an attorney but I would venture to speculate that with the passage of this Ordinance, our Ada County commissioners are, once again, needlessly going to waste precious taxpayer dollars in a lengthy court battle over something that should have been worked out peacefully instead.