City Commissioners will consider ratifying the interlocal agreement with Cascade County during their Oct. 17 meeting for Great Falls Fire Rescue to provide fire protection and emergency medical services.

The agreement would be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2023 and run through Sept. 30, 2025 according to the terms approved and signed by Cascade County Commissioners on Oct. 10.

For more than 30 years, Cascade County has contracted with the city for fire and emergency medical services to 16 designated fire districts outside the city limits.

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Property owners in those fire districts are assessed taxes for the service and last year, the city received about $230,000 through the agreement.

Fire service provided to the rural fire districts reduced their insurance rates, according to GFFR.

The interlocal agreement provides for the proceeds from the rural fire control special district levy for fire and medical services to be paid to the city in two equal installments due on or before Dec. 15 and June 15 of each contract year.

State law allows the county to contract for fire and emergency medical services.

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GFFR has provided these services to the 16 fire districts for more than 30 years and “based in their proximity to the city limits and the low frequency of calls, continued service will not degrade service within the city,” according to GFFR.

On average, GFFR responds to about 100 service calls annually in the fire districts.

The agreement will generate about $227,000 per year in revenue for GFFR.

It’s hard to calculate the exact cost of providing the services due to numerous variables, according to GFFR, but staff estimates the city’s cost to provide services won’t exceed the revenue collected.