WORKSHOP ITEM Michelle Wolfe, City Manager
Title
REVIEW OF SBM FIRE JPA
Background
In the last quarter of 2019, Blaine Staff began discussions with the City’s Fire Service partners, Mounds View and Spring Lake Park regarding potential amendments to the cities’ Joint Powers Agreement for fire services. While there were some addenda to the JPA that had been adopted over the years - mostly to approve debt issuances - the JPA itself had not changed since 1990. Blaine’s overriding concern was to amend the manner in which costs are allocated - from a formula that varies year-to-year based on each city’s respective share of taxable property value and calls for services to a fixed formula that would remain in place for a set number of years.
The three cities have worked in the spirit of partnership and cooperation to arrive at a recommended formula that recognizes the economies of scale that is achieved with the joint powers and would be favorable to all three cities. That formula being recommended is:
Blaine 76%
Mounds View 15.5%
Spring Lake Park 9.5%
This aligns fairly well with the current formula that has Blaine paying 76.039%; Mounds View paying 15.998% and Spring Lake Park at 7.963%. It should also be noted that, calculated under the current method in the JPA, the distribution for 2021 would be roughly Blaine at 77.14%, Mounds View at 14.84%, and Spring Lake Park at 8.02%.
There are other provisions being considered for amendment under the JPA, most notably a provision that allows the cities to issue debt without an addendum or amendment to the JPA. The JPA is under review by Eckberg Lammers as well.
Recommendation
Staff is looking for feedback regarding the proposed formula. With the formula determined, Staff will continue to work with the City’s partners to amend the SBM Fire Services Joint Powers Agreement and return the item to Council for adoption in October.