Nampa Fire is now part of a fire district. A commissioner race is on Canyon ballots
The city of Nampa this year folded its fire department into the neighboring Nampa Fire Protection District, a move that has led to the expansion of the fire district commission by two members.
The city’s annexation means all five commissioner seats are up for election this November, but only one is contested and on the ballot.
The annexation is intended to lower taxes and improve efficiency by getting firefighters to fires faster. The Fire Department says Nampa will save more than $10 million a year by cutting the Fire Department from its budget. The department will be dissolved Dec. 31, and the costs of firefighting and emergency medical services will shift next year to a new taxing jurisdiction, the fire district, which will appear as a new line item on Nampa homeowners’ property tax bills.
TheNampa Fire Protection District now covers 85 square miles, including the city’s more than 30 square miles. All of its subdistricts were redrawn when the fire district annexed the city and two subdistricts were added. All five include portions of the city of Nampa.
Seats in Subdistricts 1, 4, and 5 were uncontested, so the only candidates automatically have won. No one filed to run for the Subdistrict 3 seat, so someone will be appointed after the fire district puts a legal notice in the newspaper.
Subdistrict 2 is the only race on the ballot. All residents in the fire district will have a choice on their ballots. Running are incumbent commissioner Paul Jones and challenger Kenny Wroten.
Wroten has run for office before, including unsuccessful bids for the Nampa City Council in 2017 and for the Republican nomination for the Idaho House district representing south Nampa in 2020.
The Nampa City Council approved the Fire Department’s request to be annexed.
“There is no competing for funds from the city,” Fire Chief Kirk Carpenter said by phone. “The district budget goes completely to EMS and fire. We have always had to compete for funding from other city entities.”
The Fire Department asked the city in 2017 to approve the annexation, but the council then voted not to. Facing lengthening response times and the need for a new fire station and staff, the council last December approved the request in a 4-2 vote.
Carpenter said in an informational video that the move will not cost taxpayers any more money. They’ll still be paying for fire services, but to the fire district rather than the city.
The election for fire commissioner is important, Carpenter said, because now that the department is part of the protection district, the commission is the sole entity responsible for ensuring proper emergency responses and for the tax dollars that run the fire department.
“They guarantee the success of our performance,” Carpenter said.
The Nampa Fire Department has struggled to keep up with the growth of the city, with response times below what they should be, Carpenter said.
“This is a pretty historical move for the community of Nampa,” he said. “This is taking the department and focusing on its ability to meet the needs out into the future.”
Nampa Fire Protection District commission seat elections are at-large and can be voted on by all residents in the fire district. But a commissioner must live within the fire protection district for a year proceeding their election or appointment.
Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov. 2.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 11:27 AM.
