Nation to take control of fire stations
AZTEC, N.M.
The Navajo Nation by April 1 will assume control of three fire stations previously operated by San Juan County.
The stations, staffed by volunteers and located in Shiprock, Newcomb and Ojo Amarillo, serve portions of 18 Navajo chapters in northwest New Mexico. When the Nation takes over the stations, it will end a 23-year agreement with the county for fire and emergency medical services on reservation land.
“We understand the need for the Nation to assume control of the fire stations due to the lowering of (county) revenue,” Navajo President Russell Begaye said Oct. 7 during a meeting of the San Juan County Commission. “We understand the dynamics.”
The change comes amid declining revenues throughout the county and increased calls for emergency services on the Navajo Nation. Since 2009, the county has cut $50 million from its annual budget and 8 percent of its workforce. In the last four years alone, the county has spent more than $1.4 million to subsidize the three fire stations on the reservation.
Revenue losses totaling more than $1.7 million are linked directly to the Navajo Nation, according to county documents. When Northern Edge Navajo Casino opened in 2012, it pulled business away from the county-owned SunRay Park & Casino, leading to a loss of $1 million per year. An additional loss of $700,000 in property taxes came in 2013 when the Nation purchased Navajo Mine from BHP.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow