Evaluation of Regional Fire Services Proposals

Following the City Manager’s recommendation to seek proposals for Mercer Island to potentially adopt a regional fire services model at the April 4 City Council meeting, the City has received proposals from two regional fire service providers, the City of Bellevue and Eastside Fire & Rescue.

Proposals received by the City can be viewed at the below links:

• City of Bellevue
• Eastside Fire & Rescue

The City Council discussed the evaluation of these proposals during its Meeting on May 2. Acting on the City Manager’s recommendation, the Council created the City Council Regional Fire Service Proposal Review Ad Hoc Committee to assist the City Manager with review and evaluation of regional fire service proposals in May and June of 2023. During this Meeting, the Mayor announced the three council members who will be a part of the ad hoc committee on this initiative:

• Mayor Salim Nice
• Councilmember Lisa Anderl
• Councilmember Craig Reynolds

The City will review these proposals internally in the weeks ahead, in preparation for a presentation and update to the City Council in June. The City looks forward to a thorough discussion of the various paths forward, as well as input from residents of the Mercer Island community.

As a recap, the purpose of adopting a regional fire service model is to maintain or enhance current levels of service while balancing the shared responsibility for long-term, cost-effective fire and emergency medical service delivery. A regional fire services model has the potential to allow the City to offer even stronger fire and emergency medical services to the Mercer Island community, with more cohesion, consistent leadership, and a deeper bench of resources, specialty services, and growth opportunities.

Read the City Manager's letter to the community for a recap on this recommendation and how it would benefit the Mercer Island community. For additional information about the proposal review the full Let's Talk page.