City of Union Hosts second public meeting on city/rural fire district annexation
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, February 5th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION – When it comes to firefighting, bureaucracy and jurisdictional disputes probably aren’t what comes to mind for most people. In some cases, however, a few strokes of a pen can mean the difference between a quick response by firefighters and a delayed one, regardless of the actual professionalism of emergency responders. The city of Union is continuing its fight to end a potentially dangerous bureaucratic quirk with its 2nd public hearing on the annexation of the City Fire/EMS service into the Union Rural Fire Protection District on Monday, February 12.
For those unfamiliar with the situation, the City of Union Fire/EMS and Union Rural Fire Protection District have been attempting a merger of the two services for several years now. Despite being legally distinct entities with their own fire chiefs, both services share the same fire station, equipment, and many of the same volunteer firefighters. Union attempted to finally annex the city service into the rural service last year through County Measure 331-118, though this failed due to lack of voter turnout.
Since the failed vote, efforts have continued to make the merger happen and, hopefully, garner public support. For those interested in the annexation or would like to give feedback on the process, the second public hearing is scheduled for Monday, February 12, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Leonard Almquist Council Chambers, Union.
