The International Assocation of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1828 on Friday offered its “full support” for City of Edmonds annexation into the South County Regional Fire Authority (RFA).
For the past 15 years, the union said in a statement, its members have been responding to emergencies and protecting Edmonds residents as part of the agreement between the city and the RFA. “Making this partnership official through annexation will bring more stability, better funding, and streamlined operations to keep providing the high-quality fire and life safety services the people of Edmonds deserve,” the statement said.
“Our commitment to this community isn’t just a job — it’s personal,” said IAFF Local President Pat Moore. “We’re your neighbors, friends, and family members, and we’re here to make sure Edmonds stays safe and well-protected. This annexation isn’t about changing what we do; it’s about making sure we can keep doing it even better for the long haul.”
The Edmonds City Council agreed to place the issue of RFA annexation before voters in an April 22 special election. Edmonds hasn’t had its own fire department since 2009. In 2010, the city began contracting with South County Fire for fire and emergency medical services. If annexation is approved by voters, Edmonds property owners would pay South County Fire directly for these services.
Ballots are scheduled to be mailed April 3, according to the Snohomish County Elections Office.
While our city is scrutinizing costs and laying off employees (not even our police department can avoid) SCF / RFA has backed Edmonds into a corner, cancelling our contract and demanding double the costs. RFA allows them to escape oversight, and continue to operate an outdated delivery model.
Edmonds residents’ number 1 priority is “housing affordability”; show us some fiscal accountability. Take a page from our Police department and suggest solutions to limit our residents cost burden.
https://edmondswa.gov/government/city_budget/community_survey
https://edmondscandobetter.org/
Of course the IFAA local 1828 did. I would too if it increased my income. Unfortunately, the RFA will mean less money in the pockets of the citizens of Edmonds.
Oh, what a surprise and a big relief to know that this so called labor union consisting of rank and file and RFA management personnel loves us so much and it’s all so personal to them to keep caring for us. Silly me, I thought it was just about keeping the money stream coming from those well heeled Edmonds property owners. Reliable source of funding I think they call it. Of course we should just over look the fact that they pulled the plug on our town in it’s most dire time of financial need. Vote No and go for a better deal. This is just a tax money grab because they think that Edmonds is where the money is and they are going after it. The real sad thing is that our Mayor and Council Majority, who are supposed to be at bat for us, support the other team.
We’ve gone from the Union/Association (or whatever it is) unofficial stance being, “we don’t have a dog in this fight,” to this official position statement of support and putting up vote yes signs all over town. By law as a public agency the official RFA position on this vote is supposed to be neutral, just like the city. I would like to see a list of the Union/Association actual total membership along with their professional work titles published in MEN because it looks to me like there could be some conflict of interest questions down the road on this in terms of public disclosure and just who is supporting what and why.
RFA should only be based on cost to serve…
…just sayin’