In July of 2016, the Camp Verde and Montezuma-Rimrock fire districts created a partnership, the Copper Canyon Fire and Medical Authority. The purpose of the agreement – a Joint Powers Agreement – was to “create a common and more efficient organization,” Copper Canyon Fire Chief Terry Keller said. On Nov. 20, the governing boards of the Camp Verde and Montezuma-Rimrock fire districts are expected to formally vote on a proposed merger. Should the two boards decide to convert the courtship into a full marriage of the two fire districts, a “new Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District will be what is born by the merger of Montezuma-Rimrock and Camp Verde, and they will dissolve the authority at that time,” Keller said. The “authority,” Keller said, is “just a contracted agency born from the two” fire districts.