Dan Petersen: The really key challenges with the model that we have today is there’s two separate city councils and city managers. There’s two separate budgets. And staff are employed by either Springfield or Eugene, not by ESF. That structure creates a lot of the complexity and inefficiencies that are present today.
Presenter: After more than a decade, Eugene and Springfield could decide on the future governance of the fire department by the end of this year. With the Eugene City Council Sept. 24, City Manager Sarah Medary:
Sarah Medary (Eugene, city manager, Sept. 24, 2025): Just over a year ago we had a presentation from an outside consultant, AP Triton, who had conducted a feasibility study on different governance models for Eugene Springfield Fire. As you know, we undertook this study to explore models that could solve some of the challenges of running what we’ve called a functionally merged department, either challenges that have continued, or new challenges that have developed over, I think the last 18 years.
[00:00:37] Presenter: Here’s that AP Triton consultant just over a year ago, explaining the issues with how the department is currently organized. July 8, 2024, Dan Petersen:…