The Aberdeen and Hoquiam fire departments will host two public open houses to discuss the Central Grays Harbor Regional Fire Authority Plan — the merging of both fire departments into one agency — next week.

Staff will be on hand to present information from the plan and answer questions.

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 6 p.m. at the Hoquiam Fire Department, 625 8th St.

Thursday, Sept. 2, 6 p.m. at the Aberdeen Fire Department, 700 W Market St.

The consolidation plan is designed to streamline firefighting operations between the two cities, improve response times and cut down on operational redundancies. It comes with a price tag, a new “benefits charge” based on property square footage that will add to most property tax bills in the two cities. Details are included in the plan on both cities’ websites, aberdeenwa.gov and cityofhoquiam.com.

The plan will be on the November general election ballot, where it will need a 60% supermajority to pass.