By Missy Wilson
Assistant City Administrator
City of Raytown, MO

The City of Raytown Board of Aldermen tonight voted to move forward with an agreement to contract with the Raytown Fire Protection District to provide emergency medical services to the citizens of Raytown.

This decision is an opportunity to move towards more efficient operations within the city. In the search for efficiencies, city officials reviewed what similar suburbs in our area have done to provide more efficient services in their communities. It is estimated in 2022, fully 20 percent of Raytown’s population will be 65 and older. It is important the city officials tackle this long-term issue to meet the needs of an aging population immediately. The agreement with the Raytown Fire Protection District means that our mutual taxpayers will benefit from a plan that decreases response times through the availability of additional ambulances, personnel and multiple deployment locations.

The agreement to transfer the Emergency Medical Services will be implemented on Nov. 17, 2018. The City of Raytown will work with the 13 full-time Emergency Management Services employees during the next two months to make this transition as smooth as possible. The Raytown Fire Protection District plan is to add 13 full-time employees to assure the health and safety of Raytown citizens. A levy question will be presented to voters to allow for the license transfer and funding before 2020.

The city staff and elected representatives are accountable to the hardworking citizens and taxpayers of Raytown, who deserve this level of accountability. The Raytown Fire Protection District is one of only three fire-response agencies in Missouri to achieve the top insurance rating, ISO 1, in 2018. This nationally-recognized rating saves money for Raytown homeowners and businesses every year. The City of Raytown is the last local city to have separate services. This decision made sense for the future of Raytown.