Hutto city staff presented the first cost estimates for a city-owned fire department and council approved moving forward with the staffing and apparatus procurement for Hutto Fire Station No. 1 at an Oct. 15 meeting.
The big picture
The first fire station is currently 90% designed, and the city estimates each station will cost $10 million.
The annual personnel cost per station is $1,557,450. This uses a three-platoon calculation, which divides firefighters into three rotating work groups to keep a crew available at the station around the clock.
According to the presentation, a three-station city fire department model would require an estimated $33.7 million to get started and $4.7 million every year for frontline personnel. This model is one of the preliminary scenarios the city is using to estimate the cost of establishing its own fire department. It assumes the city would build and staff three fire stations, with each station having its own four-person crew on duty. The annual bill would be higher once the city accounts for the rest of the department's operations, staff said.
The numbers are preliminary planning estimates, not an adopted budget or final number, officials said. The city has not yet determined how many stations would be needed to serve all of Hutto's city limits.
“As the first station progresses through design and development, staff is going to continue to refine these estimates and bring updates to city council and the public,” Assistant City Manager David Amsler said.
A motion was made directing staff to proceed with funding options for building and staffing the station and to get ready for procurement of apparatus, the vehicles and major equipment firefighters use to respond to emergencies, as recommended by the consultants.
Mayor Mike Snyder has previously stated a primary driver for creating a municipal department is capturing local sales tax revenue from large commercial projects and retaining direct control over municipal development approvals.
Also of note
Additionally, council directed staff to draft sales tax sharing agreement addendums with Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 3, which currently provides fire services, at a 90%/10% split. Under this proposal, the city would keep 90% of the sales tax revenue produced by certain portions of the city. These addendums would be in addition to the current 60%/40% sales tax sharing agreement.
The addendums would cover the following developments: Cottonwood, the Megasite, Sprouts and Gateway, according to city documents. The city attorney will evaluate whether Star Ranch is also eligible, as it was never part of the previous ESD sales tax election.
The background
In May, Hutto City Council directed the Hutto Economic Development Corporation to move forward with a new fire station near the Hutto Megasite. Mayor Mike Snyder said the city’s rapid growth led to the decision to work toward establishing its own fire department.
Council authorized the city manager Oct. 1 to notify WCESD 3 of the city's intent to provide fire services to some newly annexed areas.
