Area fire districts facing significant cuts in upcoming FY’26 budget

Selkirk Fire looking at possible layoffs, equipment sales, program reductions and more

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Selkirk Fire and EMS officials are preparing to review preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budgets for the Northside, Sagle and Westside fire districts and, according to a statement Aug. 7 from Selkirk Fire, all three will contain significant reductions.

“The budgets reflect a shift in priorities unique to each district, as well as diligent work to ensure a sustainable future,” according to the statement. “These budgets contain cuts, the selling of equipment and an elimination of some programs; however, more will need to be done in the future.”

The first meeting will take place Thursday, Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. in Northside Fire District Station 1 (437 Cedar Ave., in Ponderay). Meetings will then take place on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 9 a.m. in the Dover Fire Station (825 Railroad Ave.) and 5 p.m. in the Sagle Fire Station (2689 Gun Club Road).

In a July 23 meeting with leaders of the fire district boards, Selkirk Fire Chief Jeff Armstrong — who helms all three fire districts — outlined some of the challenges facing local fire services following the defeat of their levy measures in the May election.

If approved, the Northside Fire District levy would have raised an additional $1.2 million per year on a permanent basis, amounting to a tax of $61 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. In Sagle, the fire district asked for a permanent increase for a total override of $750,000, resulting in a tax increase to $122 per year per $100,000 of taxable value. Likewise, Westside sought to raise an additional $810,358, also carrying a total tax burden of $122 per year per $100,000.

All three levies were intended to support recruitment and retention of firefighters; fuller staffing of area fire stations; and equipment, maintenance and general operations.

Meanwhile, Armstrong said in July that call volumes have increased by 15% in the past five years while high inflation has resulted in the deferral of maintenance and replacement of aging equipment and facilities — compounded by a 3% yearly budget cap for the taxing districts that provide fire services to residents throughout Bonner County.

Northside’s levy was defeated 1,059 to 559 — or 65.45% to 34.55% — in the May election, while Sagle’s went down 1,253 against and 741 in favor, for a margin of 62.84% to 37.16%, and Westside’s was 402 against and 339 in favor, for 54.25% to 45.75%.

In the Aug. 7 statement, Selkirk Fire said that the Northside and Westside fire districts, in particular, “will need to be reevaluated.”

Though “creative steps” have been taken to maintain levels of service in the upcoming budget, Selkirk Fire stated that “difficult decisions” will need to be made in the near future. 

“In the Westside District, recent funds made available from the Dover Urban Renewal Area (DURA), fell short of expectations and were not enough to support additional staffing,” according to the statement. “In the Northside District, utilization of reserve funds or selling of equipment to make ‘ends meet’ is not a long-term plan.”

More cuts are expected, including the potential for layoffs in the Northside District in 2026.    

Paid staff at the Careywood station were eliminated in June, in order to save “a substantial amount in overtime and personnel costs,” with those funds “shifted immediately to the maintenance of our aging fleet, fire station repairs and equipment replacement,” Armstrong said at the time. 

Layoffs in Northside may jeopardize the district’s grant under FEMA guidelines, with a return to only one-duty firefighter per day.  

Selkirk Fire stated that “alternative staffing models, including joint staffed engines, ‘quick response vehicles’ and other creative ways the districts can work together are being explored.”

“I’ve been handed a challenging situation, but we still have an obligation to serve the community with the resources we have,” Armstrong wrote in the Aug. 7 statement. “I would like my staff to know I am doing everything I can to protect them, as well as the community.”