One legged stool

To The Eagle,

The time has come: Cathlamet should begin the orderly shutdown of its fire department and transfer of all assets to District 4. Having shed its two public utilities that generated recurring revenue (water and sewer), the municipality now lacks the resources to properly operate the one that remains, EMS, which generates only costs.

Historically the town’s utilities were like a 3-legged stool that together supported a single clerk-treasurer to oversee the complex accounting state law requires. Keeping EMS solvent entails chasing users for payment, navigating a complex relationship with the private ambulance company American Medical Response (AMR), and sustaining an all-volunteer force with everything from gear to training to insurance – costs not fully compensated by Wahkiakum County. Of the three utilities, EMS is the most complex, and it must work each time somebody dials 9-1-1. Cathlamet can no longer bear this responsibility.

Step One: transfer all firefighting and wildland firefighting functions to District 4 as the basis of a new long-term service contract. Step Two: assess the district’s capabilities and willingness to assume control of EMS services within a year. Alternately, the county would need to create a new entity with a county-wide mandate.

These changes are inevitable because a one-legged stool cannot stay upright for very long. The sole issue is whether the process is orderly or chaotic.

George Wehrfritz

Former mayor of Cathlamet