MONROE — The city recently agreed to a one-year contract with the Rural Fire District, comprised of Clarno and Monroe townships, as a first step to be better paid for the services its own fire department provides alongside area departments. 

Monroe Fire Chief Dan Smits informed members of the Finance and Taxation Committee on Dec. 11 that he had met with the RFD on Dec. 8. The single year contract allows for what City Administrator Phil Rath referred to as “an extension” until better arrangements can be established. 

The fees will stay the same for the 2019 contract, just over $41,000 for a readiness fee and more than $43,000 for a response fee. The costs are split between the two townships, Rath said. 

Another year of the same numbers will allow the city to develop a longer, multi-year contract after this year concludes, Smits said. Sylvester Township had previously been a member of the district, but had not rejoined when the last agreement was put in place.

At the meeting, he noted that the district had requested response costs be charged per incident rather than a flat, annual fee. Smits said this idea “aligns our interests.” He said ideally, the fees would be established by evaluating actual costs and would be agreed upon before the end of the year to set up a longer contract in the future. 

The contract may also include other departments throughout the county. Smits said there had been “good discussion on both sides” on coming together. He added that some services provided by the city fire department, because of the location, were not paid back to the department. For instance, Monroe firefighters oversaw the plane crash response in the spring, but did not collect any costs because it was under the jurisdiction of the Juda Fire Department. 

“I want to be able to bill them,” Smits said to the committee, noting that the process would allow for the city to establish how to receive money. “Not to make a profit, but to get the money we deserve for covering that area.”

Monroe Common Council agreed to enter the Rural Fire Protection Services Agreement during its meeting Dec. 17 at City Hall. Members voted unanimously in favor of the contract.