By Kathleen Baker, Interim Mayor of Bay City, Oregon
For several years the City of Bay City has been exploring the opportunity to work more closely with neighboring communities for fire and emergency services. In March 2023, we joined together the City of Garibaldi and Garibaldi Rural Fire Protection District in creating a Joint Adhoc Steering Committee to research the viability of forming a fire district, and report back to the city councils and board with recommendations.
At our City Council meeting on October 10, 2023, the members of the Bay City City Council voted unanimously to table the decision to form a fire district until a future time.
The health and safety of our citizens is of utmost importance to our City. Based on information provided to the City Council by the Steering Committee, testimony from our Firefighters, and input from citizens, the City Council does not believe this is the right time to ask our citizens to
increase their tax burden through the formation of this district. Our citizens recently approved a five-year operating levy to provide funding for our Fire Department, and we will continue to strengthen our department through this support.
We maintain our belief that collaboration through strengthened Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA’s) and potentially forming a district would be beneficial in the future. Time constraints involved with placing this decision before voters on the May 2024 ballot would have forced a decision now, when many questions remain unanswered. We hope that more clarity will be available in upcoming years, and this concept will have a better chance at success in the future.
On behalf of the City of Bay City’s City Council, I would like to express my gratitude towards the dedicated volunteers who continue to serve our community, especially to the firefighters, both volunteer and career staff, who have strengthened our local Fire Department into the organization that provides our community with such pride.
I would also like to thank the members of the North Coast Fire & Rescue District Steering Committee for their investment in exploring this option over the past six months. Even though we have chosen not to move forward with forming a district at this time, our community has benefited from your contributions.