Othello residents to vote on fire district annexation next spring

OTHELLO - Othello residents will be voting in spring 2027 on a proposal to annex the city into Adams County Fire District 5.

City administrator Aaron Garza said Othello residents would receive a letter outlining some of the details of the proposed annexation in July. Residents will not only be asked to decide about annexation, but also about a possible increase in the assessment for fire services.

If the annexation is approved, the levy rate for Othello residents would increase to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Residents pay the equivalent of 65 cents per $1.000 of assessed value right now.

"The citizens would pay the exact same as county residents," Aaron Garza said. "That would be part of annexation."

Fire District 5 residents voted in 2025 to raise their levy rate to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

If the annexation is approved, it would go into effect in January 2028. The annexation proposal includes provisions for extending the existing contract.

That contract expires in April 2027, and Garza told Othello City Council members Monday that the city would pay about $732,500 to extend it through the end of 2027 if the annexation is approved.

The proposal also includes a provision to expand the fire district board from three to five commissioners if annexation was approved. All commission seats would be at-large, which means commissioners could live anywhere in the fire district.

City officials will be applying for a $1.37 million grant to buy a new fire truck, Garza said, with the applicants required to provide a 25 percent match. Under the terms of the proposal, ACFD 5 would pay the 25 percent match and the remaining cost of the truck. Garza said the estimated cost of the truck would be about $2 million.

Fire District 5 officials are preparing a draft contract, Garza said, which will be reviewed by ACFD 5 commissioners. Once commissioners approve the draft, it will be submitted to the council.

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