Northfield Area Fire Departments’ Budget Set To Be Approved By The End of September;  Unique Process With Joint-Powers Agreement

With the budget process well underway for local governments, one area that presents a particularly complex budgeting process is the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Services, or NAFRS. Rather than being a regular department under the city government, the Fire Department is a Joint Powers Board between the City of Northfield, Dundas, and several surrounding townships. The partnership allows for the cost to be split over the entire area. Fire Chief Tom Nelson says there are three factors that determine how much each partner contributes to the overall budget: 

“One is the number of people. So, like, how many people are in the townships that we cover, how many people are in Northfield, how many people are in Dundas? It also looks at the number of fire calls. And the third one is “It’s called estimated market value of improvements, which means structures.” – Tom Nelson, Northfield Area Fire Chief on KYMN In The Morning    

In total, Northfield contributes approximately 73% of the budget, with townships and Dundas contributing the remaining portion. Nelson said that how much each group contributes is evaluated every two years, and as areas change, so too do the contributions to the Fire Department’s budget.  

Nelson breaks down the department’s budget into two categories: operations and capital/equipment. The operations budget is fairly straightforward, with Nelson anticipating a 3% increase based on inflation. Equipment, however, is more complicated with year-to-year variation based on what needs to be purchased. This year, the budget is lower because the department has fewer items to purchase. Among the different cost issues, he noted that fire trucks were expensive, with few manufacturers, and the time it takes to build a truck. 

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