Ross officials are leaning in favor of pursuing a shared services agreement between the Ross Valley and Central Marin fire departments.

The Town Council received a presentation Thursday on options for finding new management for the Ross Valley Fire Department. The agency will soon be without a chief when its contract with the county ends in June.

However, like their counterparts in San Anselmo, members of the Ross Town Council said they need additional information.

“I would like more data,” Councilmember Elizabeth Brekhus said. Brekhus and Mayor Beach Kuhl represent the town on the fire board.

Brekhus said that even though she’s heard the presentation before, “it’s confusing. I don’t really know what the options are.”

The Ross Valley fire board hired the consulting firm Local Motion Solutions to help officials decide whether to recruit a new chief or follow some other shared services model.

The department is a joint powers authority whose members are Sleepy Hollow, Ross, San Anselmo and Fairfax.

Creating a standalone department would require hiring a new chief, deputy chief and fire marshal, which would cost an estimated $944,441, according to the consultants’ report.

Brekhus said said she wants more information on salaries for chief officer positions in similar departments, and whether the existing Ross Valley fire staff could fill vacant roles. She said if the town ultimately wants to pursue a standalone fire agency, she fears that a partnership with Central Marin fire could hamper the recruiting process.

Marin County fire Chief Jason Weber has been leading the Ross Valley department under a shared services contract since 2018. The contract will not be renewed when it expires June 30 because Weber says his county work is getting more expansive.

Under the agreement, the Ross Valley agency is paying the county about $327,000 annually for Weber’s services as well as operations and business support.

A pact between the Ross Valley and Central Marin agencies was identified as the most cost-effective move that could be done in the short term.

Local Motion Solutions is led by Adam Politzer, the former city manager of Sausalito and a recent town manager of Fairfax, and Jim Irving, a former Southern Marin Fire Protection District chief.

The consultants said the Central Marin Fire Department is the only agency that expressed interest in a shared services model.

Irving said that with the combined staff, there would be seven chief officers, including a deputy chief of operations, a fire marshal, a training battalion chief and an emergency medical services battalion chief. The structure would allow the two organizations to operate more efficiently, he said.

“I trust what the consultants are saying,” Councilmember Julie McMillan said.

“If we were to remain a standalone we’re going to be paying a heck of a lot more than what we’re paying now,” McMillan said. “And it seems like the positions line up rather well and to the extent that we can enhance services that’s a great thing.”

“I think if we can combine with a well-run Central Marin Fire Department, I think we should continue to explore that,” she said.

Councilmember Elizabeth Robbins said that seems reasonable, but agreed with Brekhus that “it’s a very confusing topic.”

“And there aren’t good options,” Robbins said. “So it’s not a simple thing to say I prefer this or I prefer that.”

However, Robbins said she thinks fire services can be combined.

Any agreement with Central Marin would also require approval from the Larkspur and Corte Madera municipal councils as well as the fire board.

Previously, Irving was a consultant on the Central Marin Fire Department merger between Corte Madera and Larkspur.

The Ross Valley has a long history of shared services and consolidation.

In 1982, the Fairfax Fire Department and the San Anselmo Fire Department merged into a Ross Valley department. Sleepy Hollow joined the joint powers authority agreement in 2010. The fire board voted in 2012 to consolidate with Ross. The fire department also outsources financial accounting services from San Anselmo.

Today, the department serves more than 24,000 residents from four stations, with nine firefighters on duty daily. However, the Ross station is set to close, and stations in Fairfax and San Anselmo are being modified to accommodate more staff.

San Anselmo’s Town Council received a similar presentation last month and asked for another report back. The Fairfax Town Council is set for a presentation at its meeting on Wednesday.

The goal is to get direction from each town so that their appointed members on the fire board can take a vote in March on how to proceed. Under the terms of the joint powers agreement, any decision has to be unanimous.