The city of Mercer Island stated in a recent press release that “no decision has been made on contracting with a third party for fire services.” At the upcoming city council meeting on Nov. 2, the docket will feature the budget proposal that, if approved, will fund a request for proposals process and further study on the issue.

In a lengthy discussion led by independent consultant Emily Moon, council delved into the final fire services study at its Oct. 6 meeting, focusing on the possibility of seeking cost savings and operational efficiencies by contracting out fire services. A draft report of the study was presented at the July 14 council meeting.

The study, conducted by the Matrix Consulting Group in partnership with Moon, reviewed all aspects of the city’s fire operations and concluded that the Mercer Island Fire Department (MIFD) is operating nearly as efficiently as possible for a standalone, island-bound operation, the city said.

“Your department is producing well, according to those community standards,” Moon said regarding quality and level of service and productivity.

Fire chief Steve Heitman agreed with Moon’s assessment of the department and said that while he feels there’s a need for evaluation, he doesn’t know if a change is necessary.

One question from council to Moon was if the MIFD could reduce the number of firefighters per shift. She said that’s possible, but only through collective bargaining and if the MIFD wanted to drop below its effective response force. Paying more overtime would also factor into that scenario.

“It’s important to note that none of the fire jurisdictions who provided initial cost proposals to the city of Mercer Island would reduce the number of firefighters per shift,” Moon said.

On possibly converting one station and its staffing to EMS only, Moon said if that occurred, it would result in lower response time to all non-medical calls, and therefore would result in more mutual-aid calls. In turn, MIFD wouldn’t be able to respond to mutual-aid calls elsewhere, she said.

Presently, according to a map that Moon presented to council, Station 91 responds to approximately 60 percent of all calls, while Station 92 responds to approximately 40 percent of all calls, with the majority being fire-related.

If the budget proposal is approved, the city will request fire-service proposals from the cities of Seattle and Bellevue and Eastside Fire & Rescue.

“Thorough review and community engagement will be given to any received fire-service proposal,” the press release noted, adding that if the city accepts any of the proposals, the new parent company will operate the MIFD and provide services from the existing Island stations.

Moon noted that the regional approach “relies on basic life support being administered by fire departments, and the delivery of advanced life support being carefully and appropriately reserved and deployed and the care administered by paramedics.”

The Nov. 2 meeting begins at 5 p.m. and can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/y4zvlr5u