Facing a $659,000 budget shortfall, South Tucson has asked for help policing its streets and putting out fires.
South Tucson City Manager Sixto Molina formally approached the city of Tucson this week, specifically asking Tucson to provide daily police services from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. and take over South Tucson’s fire and emergency medical services.
South Tucson officials believe they can save between $200,000 and $300,000 by outsourcing at least some services. The city finds itself in the red as sales-tax revenues continue to fall while costs to maintain existing services continue to rise.
In a memo to the Tucson City Council, City Manager Michael Ortega said the city would address the request but he outlined a number of financial risks that come with such an arrangement.
In terms of policing the 1.2-square-mile city, Ortega said Tucson would need to hire additional officers to patrol South Tucson streets for the four-hour shift. He said it would also be a logistical problem as officers would have to carve out time to put evidence in storage and make court appearances.
On the Fire Department side, Ortega immediately ruled out Tucson providing any kind of EMS service. In the memo, he hinted that South Tucson has “other options” when it comes to medical calls.
He later confirmed that Molina told him South Tucson has been approached by a private vendor for EMS services.
Molina confirmed he is discussing contracting for EMS services with some private companies, but declined to elaborate as the talks are continuing.
In terms of responding to fire calls, Ortega said Tucson could provide a fee for service to respond to calls but it would require hiring more firefighters.
An existing agreement between the two cities requires the Tucson Fire Department to respond to structures fires in South Tucson, so it is unclear how this arrangement would change if the Tucson City Council signed off on expanding the agreement.
The agreement, a common practice in smaller communities, was put in place to protect the lives of South Tucson firefighters, as a fully engulfed structure fire could easily be too much for the number of firefighters on duty.
Officials said the number of structure-fire calls requiring the city of Tucson to respond are relatively few, averaging less than 12 a year.
Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik was skeptical of any agreement, saying Tucson needs to fully staff its police and fire departments before responding to calls in neighboring communities.
The projected budget deficit has the South Tucson City Council considering laying off all of its firefighters and possibly some police officers.
The South Tucson Police Department has three open vacancies for patrol officers and the Fire Department has just three full-time employees, with more than two dozen part-time employees.
