How will fire and emergency medical services change if the City voters agree to annex into NCRFA?

If Arlington voters approve annexation of the City into the NCRFA, fire and emergency medical services will be provided under the direction and management of the NCRFA.  Personnel that currently serve in the Arlington Fire Department will continue to serve the City but under the employment of the RFA.  Fire Stations and fire and EMS vehicles currently serving Arlington will continue in operation unless or until they become obsolete, and will continue to be labelled “City of Arlington Fire.” 

Under NCRFA’s current policies, upon annexation into the NCRFA, Arlington residents with health insurance or Medicaid/Medicare will no longer be billed for their deductible portion of the ambulance transport costs, regardless of whether the insurance company pays the full amount billed or not. 

Annexation will enable immediate service level improvements by bringing in-house 24-7 staffing of incident command (currently contracted out to other fire agencies in part); increase the number of vehicles to respond in incidents; increase flexibility in deployment of firefighters and paramedics; and, it is anticipated, slightly reduce response times in rural and suburban areas.

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1. What is a Regional Fire Authority (RFA)?
2. Who else has created a RFA?
3. How is a RFA created?
4. Can other cities or fire district’s join an existing RFA? What is the process?
5. Why is the City of Arlington considering annexing into the NCRFA?
6. How will fire and emergency medical services change if the City voters agree to annex into NCRFA?
7. What types of staffing and program partnerships exist today between Arlington and NCRFA?
8. When will the annexation proposal come before Arlington voters? When would the annexation take effect?
9. How much will it cost Arlington taxpayers to be part of the NCRFA?
10. How is NCRFA funded and how does this differ from the current funding for fire and emergency medical services in Arlington?
11. How will the City of Arlington be represented on the NCRFA governance board?
12. Does the firefighters' union support the RFA?
13. What happens if the RFA doesn’t pass?