Talk of shifting governance of Miami County Fire District No. 1 to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) resurfaced Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the commission’s study session.
County Administrator Shane Krull outlined reasons to shift governance of fire districts to the BOCC in front of a packed meeting room that included Fire District No. 1 Board President Charlie Brand and Vice President Bob Bigley, Paola Fire Chief Andy Martin, Johnson County Fire District No. 2 Chief Jim Francis, city administrators and managers from Paola, Osawatomie, Louisburg and Spring Hill, and other local officials and fire department representatives.
Since the early 1990s, the County Commission has added a county administrator, fiscal services director and procurement agent to enhance the ability to manage county services, Krull said. In a memo accompanying his comments, Krull said the county administrator’s office has the ability and capacity to manage the fire districts’ daily activities. Krull’s comments were not out of context, given recent history. Talk of returning governance to BOCC dates to late 2016. At that time, county commissioners expressed concern the fire board was pursuing acquisition of land and making plans for new substations without consulting them.
(Read more: The Miami County Republic)