The Grand Junction City Council and the Clifton Fire Protection District Board have approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the City of Grand Junction Fire Department (GJFD) to provide temporary management services to the Clifton Fire Protection District (CFPD). In November, both agencies received a Cooperative Services Feasibility Study from consulting firm AP Triton, stating that both departments are comparable, and that further exploration of cooperative service could be beneficial. Through the agreement, GJFD Deputy Chief of Operations, Chris Angermuller, will temporarily become acting Chief at CFPD beginning January 1, 2023, providing general administration and oversight for CFPD along with the current CFPD board.
During this management agreement, CFPD Board and the City will work together to conduct an in-depth exploration to see if a long-term cooperative service agreement would be practical and desirable for both agencies. This will involve a number of City departments comparing every aspect of both agencies, and determining the resources, training, and staff that would be needed to share services under a cooperative service agreement.
“Right now, we have a general idea that both agencies are compatible, but what we need moving forward is a real cost-benefit analysis for both departments to make an informed choice about what comes next,” said GJFD Fire Chief Ken Watkins.
CFPD Board President Robert Thomason said, “We are good partners with GJFD, and we already cooperatively serve our areas together, especially as you look at calls in Fruitvale and Clifton. We make a good team and right now it makes sense to see if formally combining our services some way would provide fiscal and emergency response benefits to our community as a whole.”
For more information on the management agreement contact the Grand Junction Fire Department Community Outreach Office at 970-549-5800 or by email at GJFirePIO@gjcity.org .