CALDWELL, Idaho — The Caldwell Fire Department, which has operated within the city since 1891, could separate from the city and become its own district, an idea discussed at a recent city council meeting and budget workshop.
The potential change is driven by Idaho House Bill 389, which caps how much new tax revenue a city can collect based on new growth at 8%. As Caldwell grows rapidly and demands for emergency services increase, the city cannot collect enough revenue to keep up.
Fire Chief Bryan Daniels says there is a few reasons that this is a possible idea. "It would enable us to not have to compete with tax dollars that cities have to distribute between parks, police, streets, etc," he said.
If the fire department separates from the city, recently introduced House Bill 959 allows that revenue cap to increase to 15% for fire and EMS services, which has the potential to increase department funding.
City Mayor Eric Phillips described the potential separation as an "amicable divorce", where the city and fire department would separate, and so would the funding, but would still come together to serve the same community. Essentially, the two entities would be co-parenting.
For neighbors, the service area and most personnel would stay the same. But fire department funding would move from the city's section on residents' tax forms into a separate fire district section. The impact on wallets would be slight but visible on your tax forms.
If the department does not separate from the city, the council could ask voters to approve a public safety levy to accommodate the growing emergency services demand.
"We just have to decide how we're going to set our budget with or without the fire department being with us next fiscal year," said Mayor Eric Phillips.
No decision has been made, and the deadline is not until December. The fire department discussion will continue at the next city council meeting.
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