Commissioner asks staff to revise interlocal agreement with Moapa Valley Fire Protection District
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Summary
Commissioner Kirkpatrick told the Clark County Board of Commissioners staff should renegotiate the interlocal agreement with the Moapa Valley Fire Protection District to clarify operations, roles on HR/workers' comp/finance, consider designating Clark County Fire for operations oversight, and examine hiring and stipend practices.
Commissioner Kirkpatrick asked county staff to revisit and tighten the interlocal agreement between Clark County and the Moapa Valley Fire Protection District, citing operational, human-resources and governance concerns dating to a 2019 agreement.
Kirkpatrick told the board Moapa Valley was a volunteer-based district in 2019 and volunteers had requested stipends of roughly "$20 or $30 per call out." Since then, the district added positions including an assistant fire chief who later left the area, and operational demands have changed though call volume remains steady. Kirkpatrick said the district’s three stations respond to calls on I-15 and other corridors and that current standard operating procedures (SOPs) are often copied from county templates without being tailored to Moapa Valley’s unique conditions.
Kirkpatrick asked staff to: amend the interlocal agreement and any related documents to clarify roles and responsibilities (including HR, workers’ compensation and finance), designate Clark County Fire as the entity responsible for operations and oversight (returning to a previously used model), have the fire chief evaluate the district’s wildfire program, and seek to prioritize hiring local residents rather than out-of-state personnel. He also raised a specific operational concern that the district denied a request twice to place a bus for EMT support and said he wants the chief or the chief’s executive to engage on repeated issues.
Kirkpatrick additionally recommended moving a part-time administrative position (originally intended for minute-taking) to a full-time role because current duties include purchasing and grants tracking and have expanded to a 40-hour workload.
County management acknowledged the request and the chair indicated there were no objections from other commissioners, so staff were directed to proceed with the review and proposed amendments. The board did not take a formal vote; the action recorded in the meeting was direction to staff rather than ordinance adoption.
Why it matters: the interlocal agreement frames how county resources, oversight and administrative services support a semi-rural fire district that serves multiple stations and interstate response corridors; clarifying roles affects firefighter pay/stipends, training, HR liabilities and how local emergency services are staffed and supervised.
What was not decided: no formal amendment was adopted at this meeting; staff were directed to return with proposed revisions and recommendations.