The two fire districts serving the southern half of Johnson County may be consolidated in 2026 — a move county commissioners and fire district representatives say will make financial planning more efficient in the county’s fastest-growing area.
In a joint meeting Tuesday, the commission, which oversees Fire District 2, met with the governing board of Fire District 1 and approved a resolution to combine their functions. It comes with a 60-day protest period and final action by the county commission in the second quarter of 2025.
Where are Fire Districts 1 and 2?
Fire District 1 covers the southwest corner of the county, including the cities of Gardner and Edgerton. Fire District 2’s boundaries include Spring Hill in both Johnson and Miami Counties. (Fire District 2 is separate from Consolidated Fire District 2, which serves several smaller cities in northeastern Johnson County.)
County fire districts provide protection to the rural, unincorporated areas not included in city fire departments. But as the county has grown, its southern area has become less and less rural.
Projections for 2030 show the population of Fire District 1 growing by 5,740 and an even sharper jump of 24,834 more people in Fire District 2.
Fire District 1 feeling financial pinch
That has put pressure for equipment and staff in the historically small operations, particularly Fire District 1.
Equipment in that district has been in service an average of six years, with lease payments on equipment and outstanding bonds being paid off. And there’s soon going to be a need for two pumper trucks, said Jim Francis, the county’s fire services administrator.
However, because of existing lease and bond payoffs, Fire District 1 is not in a financial position to secure bonds to pay for them, Francis said.
“We have been year-to-year for a good while in Fire District 1,” said Dave Drovetta, chairman of the district’s governing board.
Combining the districts will allow strategic management of resources, he said.
“The strength we will gain as a fire service from consolidation far outweighs any concerns I have regarding governance,” he added.
How could consolidation help?
The situation in Fire District 2 is different. That district had been providing services to rural areas as well as a large area that Overland Park annexed in 2008.
That agreement has since expired. The city built a new fire station near Blue Valley Southwest High School, and in 2021 the district transferred its services to Overland Park and Fire District 1. But Fire District 2 is still a separate taxing district, as is Fire District 1.
Combining the reserve funds of the two districts could potentially eliminate District 1’s lease payments, allowing the district to begin to pay cash for future apparatus, Francis said.
The district is currently paying $400,000 in lease payments from its general fund for six fire trucks, a land lease and a building at New Century Air Center, he said.
Other potential benefits of joining forces
The consolidation would also allow the two districts to be a more coordinated system for the bottom half of Johnson County, Francis said.
With support from the county financial management staff, it would also ensure only one taxing district for Gardner, which recently annexed some land in Fire District 2.
As far as the budget goes, Francis said the mill levies supporting the general funds of both districts are about a half-mill apart. He added that both could be funded at the mill levy for Fire District 2, which is the lower taxing rate.
However, bonds are still being paid off in Fire District 1, preventing both districts from having the same overall taxing rate until 2040, when the longest-term bond ends.
Commissioner comments
Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand said the consolidation will add transparency that has been lacking under the current system and it will help with planning and taking care of the needs of firefighters.
Commissioner Becky Fast asked whether the change would come with additional costs to the county that would be borne by people outside of those two areas.
Assistant County Manager Joe Connor said fire district employees would not become county employees, and the fire districts would have full cost recovery for their shared services.
If consolidation gets final approval, the county commission would serve as the governing board.
There would also be an advisory board, using some members from the current one and representatives from Spring Hill, Gardner and Edgerton.
Consolidation would become final January 1, 2026.
