The amount that the City of Falls Church pays Arlington County for fire and ambulance services could be about to surge.
Under a proposed new agreement, the projected cost of these services would increase by 20% — from an anticipated $3.24 million to $3.89 million.
Staff from the two jurisdictions have been negotiating the arrangement for months. Falls Church City Council action to replace the current agreement is slated for May, with Arlington County Board action due in June.
The new agreement would go into effect July 1, the start of the new fiscal year for both jurisdictions.
“It really is just driven by the county’s costs,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said at a Monday (April 21) City Council work session.
Those costs are rising significantly, Arlington Fire Chief David Povlitz told Council members.
“Equipment, medical supplies — it’s all inflated. It’s just the times we’re in,” Povlitz said. “We have million-dollar fire engines now. That was unthinkable 5 or 10 years ago.”
The current agreement has been in place since 2014.
Falls Church also will have to shoulder some costs associated with union contracts between Arlington and its firefighters. That process builds “a lot of uncertainty” into budget planning, Povlitz said.
State law allows adjoining localities to contract for fire/EMS services. Under the Arlington-Falls Church contract, Arlington provides staffing for Fire Station #6, located on Little Falls Road.
The station responds to about 2,000 calls for service annually, about half within the city limits. It is staffed by 39 personnel, up from 33 when the last agreement between the jurisdictions was signed.
Council members brought up several questions about the proposed new agreement, asking staff from both localities to take a look at certain areas.
Broadly, Council member David Snyder asked if Falls Church, which has seen significant growth in mixed-use development over the past decade, has enough fire and ambulance personnel and equipment available resources to respond to calls.
Despite the growth, “we have one station and basically the same apparatus,” Snyder said.
Povlitz said multiple years of data show that the community has adequate coverage, based on standard response metrics. “The station can respond to more incidents,” he said.
The city also benefits from services of the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department.
