Reliance to Continue Receiving Fire Coverage

Reliance to Continue Receiving Fire Coverage

Reliance Fire Board Members James Brock and Brandon Mortensen speak to residents about the fire district Tuesday evening. SweetwaterNOW photo by David Martin

RELIANCE – A crisis involving the potential loss of fire coverage in Reliance has been averted, and the community is rallying behind strengthening the Reliance Fire District Board of Trustees until the district can be folded into Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1.

The RFD has paid its past due amount to SWFD No. 1 and the two fire districts have come to an agreement to continue fire service in Reliance. A major issue RFD board members and officials from SCFD No.1 say contributed to the initial RFD contract cancellation was a lack of training for the RFD board members. Board Members Brandon Mortensen and James Brock said they weren’t aware of the requirements they had to fulfill as board members. Mortensen said he was initially unaware that he needed a bond to access the RFD’s funds collected by the Sweetwater County Treasurer’s Office before being able to transfer those funds to SWFD No. 1. The training Reliance’s board members were unaware of includes mandatory board training from the state given to special district.

“We’ve been hanging out in the wind,” Brock said.

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Board members also cited a lack of participation from local businesses and residents as a challenge they faced. Meeting minutes were not recorded because the board didn’t have a secretary and had operated with a vacancy on the three-member board. State statutes allow for the board to appoint a person to serve in a vacant role, but the board members were unaware they could do that. During a community meeting at the Reliance Fire Station Tuesday evening, Joeleen Levenson was appointed to serve as a board member and as the board’s secretary.

Jeff Varley, chairman of the SWFD No. 1, said his board wasn’t aware of the challenges Brock and Mortensen faced because they were not educated on board operations and emphasized to Reliance residents that the commitment to operating a small-scale fire district board isn’t a large one, saying he usually answers three phone calls a month, attends one board meeting a month, and occasionally goes to the fire station to sign documents. He also said SWFD No.1’s decision to initially cancel its contract with the RFD wasn’t an easy decision for his board, saying they only want the RFD to pay for services provided by SWFD No. 1 and not have the taxpayers supporting SWFD No.1 subsidize calls to Reliance.

“We’re not trying to bankrupt Reliance,” Varley said. “We’re not trying to make money off of Reliance.”

The ultimate goal for the board is to have SWFD No.1 absorb the RFD. The RFD originally was established to cover the costs for Reliance’s volunteer fire department. That department ceased operations nearly two decades ago, but the special district continued to exist and devolved into an entity that passed funds raised through taxes within the district to SWFD No. 1.