KUNA, Idaho — The Kuna and Nampa fire departments could soon merge into a single agency, and a community town hall Wednesday night gave neighbors a chance to ask questions and raise concerns about the proposal.
Kuna Fire Chief T.J. Lawrence and Nampa Fire Chief Kirk Carpenter outlined the consolidation plan during the meeting. Earlier this year, the two departments commissioned a third-party study to look into what a merger would look like.
“Everything would become one — from the administration to the firefighters to the budget,” Lawrence said.
WATCH | Hear from the fire chiefs and a neighbor about the proposal
The proposal would combine the two districts into one agency that would share staffing, equipment and facilities to serve both cities.
Officials said the merger would reduce costs tied to things like overlapping leadership positions, consolidating duplicate software, shared admin support, and a reduction in reliance on contracted services.
“What the third-party did find was that upon consolidation... there’s almost instantly $700,000 of savings and by savings I mean of available funds that could staff fire stations or a reduction in costs,” Carpenter said.
The 10 fire commissioners currently serving both districts would be reduced to five overseeing the combined district. Those new commissioner seats would be based on a map drawn to balance population and physical area coverage.
Representatives from Kuna's firefighters union said that Kuna firefighters are unanimously in support of the proposal. Chief Carpenter said he's heard support for the merger from the majority of Nampa's firefighters.
Many Kuna residents also voiced support for the proposal during the town hall.
“I think we should not even think twice about it and go through with it,” said Gary Arfsten, who lives in Kuna.
Arfsten said faster emergency response times could make a difference for residents in his neighborhood.
“Everybody is going to be dependent on having some sort of 911 calls in their lives and the quicker we can get service could possibly save somebody’s life,” Arfsten said.
Some attendees shared concerns over the five new fire commissioners fairly representing the people of Kuna's interests. Others raised concerns about the potential tax impact for Kuna homeowners.
If approved, Kuna residents would see property taxes increase by about $20 per $100,000 of taxable assets, while Nampa residents would likely see a small reduction in property taxes.
“I’m one of the last people that will say I wanna raise my taxes, but I think this is so important,” Arfsten said.
Residents who missed Wednesday’s meeting will have another opportunity to ask questions and share feedback during a town hall in Nampa on Thursday August 6th at 6 p.m. at the Nampa Fire Training Center.
You can find more information about the proposal, including the presentation slides from the town hall, here.
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