Emergency partnership

Years of work between Golder Ranch Fire District and Rural/Metro Fire Department will result in a public/private operating agreement for emergency service.

With a multi-year, phased approach, March 1 is the anticipated start date of the agreement and there are only a couple signatures left to collect.

"This is a solution for Oro Valley," said John Sullivan, Golder Ranch Battalion Chief. "It's been a long time coming, but every minute of the process was worth it."

The product is a three-part agreement with Golder Ranch Fire District providing fire service, Rural/Metro Corp.'s Southwest Ambulance providing for medical transportation, and a mutual aid agreement allowing the closest unit to respond to emergency calls.

The goal of the partnership is to standardize fire and medical services through a single service provider, Sullivan said.

Currently, Golder Ranch's coverage area is north of Tangerine Road including Oracle, SaddleBrooke and Catalina. Rural/Metro provides service to town residents south of Tangerine and more than 170,000 people in unincorporated Pima County.

Under the agreement, Golder Ranch will work in phases over the next two to six years to annex remaining portions of Oro Valley into its coverage area, said Rural/Metro Chief Les Caid.

Effective immediately

Service changes will be effective immediately as the annexation process proceeds in the first phase.

The first phase of the plan includes the Catalina Shadows and Palisades Point neighborhoods as well as an area with Tangerine Road as the northern boundary, La Cañada Drive to the east, Shannon Road to the west and Lambert Lane to the south, Sullivan said.

"It will be seamless," Sullivan said. "This is Oro Valley's fire department and this move is meant to enhance service."

In July 2004, Oro Valley adopted performance standards for emergency services stipulating certain requirements for personnel numbers and response times.

Those standards require response times of five minutes or less for 90 percent of medical emergencies and six minutes or less for 90 percent of fire emergencies. Those standards are being met and will continue to be under the new agreement, Sullivan said.

All residents of Oro Valley will get the same high level of service, Town Councilwoman Conny Culver said in an e-mail.

"I anticipate the partnership to set a new standard for the town of Oro Valley," she said.

Rural/Metro to raise rates

Rural/Metro is a private provider offering services paid for by annual subscriptions or fee-for-service while Golder Ranch, a public provider, operates on secondary property taxes.

The gross cost for fire service for property owners in Oro Valley will become about $211 per $100 of secondary assessed value, Golder Ranch officials said.

Right now, Rural/Metro charges $285 annually for fire service for a 2,400-square-foot house. As part of the agreement, Rural/Metro will adjust subscription rates to be comparable to Golder Ranch's tax rate.

"We're increasing our fees," Caid said. "Fire service is expensive and we've tried to keep our rates competitive."

The new rates have not been determined, Caid said.

Because Rural/Metro is a private emergency-service pro-vider, people living in the coverage area have the option of whether or not to pay the subscription fee, which can get costly, Caid said.

"You don't get 100 percent of the people to participate, but you still have to be ready," Caid said.

Rural/Metro subscriptions will not be renewed in areas slated for annexation.

The agency handling calls may change immediately, but the change in how service is paid for will take about 12 to 18 months, Sullivan and Caid said.

"They won't be paying for the service for up to a year and a half, and the tax is not retroactive," Sullivan said.

Rural/Metro's station on First Avenue near Tangerine Road will remain in operation in a yet-to-determined capacity, Sullivan said.

2 new stations planned

Golder Ranch, which has four operational stations, is planning two new stations — one at Lambert Lane and La Cañada Drive and the other at Linda Vista Boulevard and Oracle Road. A third, if needed, would be targeted near Oracle and Magee roads, Sullivan said.

"Additional Golder Ranch fire stations within our town will result in better response times and the opportunity for more interaction with the public," Culver said. "I see this as a very positive step for Oro Valley. With one fire-service provider and one medical-transport service, everyone wins."

Both Golder Ranch and Rural/Metro officials said educating town residents about the agreement is the next step.

"It's important that everyone understand that no one is going to lose service as annexation goes on," Caid said. "Our first priority is public safety."

Town Hall meetings will be planned after the agreement is signed, Sullivan and Caid said.

"I will certainly encourage both Golder Ranch and Southwest Ambulance to step up community outreach," Culver said. "It's important the residents know and understand the key benefits associated with this milestone agreement."