With Sandpoint leaving Selkirk Fire JPA, Jeff Armstrong selected as new chief

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

It has been about a month since Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm broke a tie vote of the City Council to start the clock on disengaging from the Selkirk Fire Joint Powers Agreement, and member districts have announced the selection of Jeff Armstrong to serve as chief.

Armstrong served as deputy fire chief of the JPA, which up until last month included the Sandpoint, Sagle and Westside fire districts in an agreement to share personnel, equipment and other infrastructure. He also serves as the interim fire chief for the Northside Fire District, in which capacity he will continue with support from the JPA Board.

“We believe this unique fire service model to be a proven success, providing coordination, cost savings and a higher level of service to our communities,” Selkirk Fire officials wrote. “Your fire districts continue to search for ways to provide adequate service to the community in the most cost-effective manner; however, funding and staffing continues to be a challenge.”

The JPA was founded in 2014 and later amended and expanded — including a decision to classify all fire service personnel as city employees. Sandpoint’s decision to leave the JPA will be effective in late June, 60 days from the vote in mid-April to unwind its participation.

The continuation of the JPA had been a hot political topic for months, with members of the firefighter union going public in September 2023 that they were unhappy with the leadership of former-City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton as then-executive director of the JPA, and raised a number of concerns about management and other policies that they said put first responders’ safety at risk.

Grimm ran for mayor with strong support from the union and Selkirk Fire members, though shortly after taking office indicated that he supported decoupling Sandpoint from the agreement and returning to the previous model in which the city operated its own independent fire department.

In April, Grimm said that if the other fire districts sought to establish a new “enhanced” JPA — equivalent to a new regional fire taxing district — the city would have to go its own way because it was unclear on what legal grounds such an agreement would operate, since it became clear through further deliberation that Idaho law did not allow for the creation of such an entity. 

What’s more, “even if they come back with a legally supported enhanced JPA that council wants to participate in — the budget process is such that we are moving forward with a budget as an independent fire department with a chief and nine firefighters.”

Councilors Justin Dick, Pam Duquette and Kyle Schrieber all spoke in favor of sticking with the JPA at least through September, in order to give Selkirk Fire officials time to research and potentially propose a new agreement. 

Council President Deb Ruehle, however, argued Sandpoint benefited the least from the JPA, and extending the partnership would only result in “more time spent in the same place to come up with the same decision.”

That said, she suggested that if at some point the Legislature puts in place a statute allowing for the creation of an “enhanced” JPA that’s then approved by voters, “I am more than happy to join,” but, “that is going to be quite far down the road.”

Ruehle made the motion to withdraw from the JPA with 60 days notice, to which she and Councilors Joel Aispuro and Rick Howarth voted in favor, with Dick, Duquette and Schreiber voting “no.” Grimm’s vote broke the tie in favor of Sandpoint’s departure from the agreement.

Meanwhile, in a recent announcement, Selkirk Fire officials stated that staffing levels at the various districts and emergency response plans will not change — including providing automatic aid to Sandpoint. 

During the next year, Selkirk Fire will undertake a strategic planning process and engage with community members to find ways to improve service.

“We want to hear from you and understand more of what you expect from your fire districts,” Selkirk Fire stated. “Please consider attending your local fire commission meetings or reaching out to provide input.”

For more information, including location and times of fire commission meetings, visit selkirkfire.com. Contact Chief Jeff Armstrong at [email protected].