As Hollister and San Benito County officials consider consolidation of fire services – and leaving Calfire out of the mix – it is important to remember that the same leaders still have a police merger to weigh.
The two cost-saving considerations by city and county officials are reflective of the times, to say the least. At this point, local leaders appear ready to potentially act on the political will necessary for just one of the ideas, a proposal to consolidate Hollister, San Juan Bautista and county fire services. Some supervisors were ready to jump ahead with the idea despite no study and little examination – a stark contrast to the law enforcement scrutiny – other than the county administrative officer proclaiming it would save $78,000, enhance services and provide more local control.
County and city leaders, meanwhile, have all but dropped the idea to merge the sheriff’s office and Hollister Police Department after a consultant in December presented its final conclusions, including projected annual savings for the two agencies of $322,000, challenges such as lacking administrative structure to take on the endeavor, and an ultimate recommendation against the full-on consolidation due to the relatively modest funding reduction – about 5 percent of total law enforcement costs between the two agencies – and anticipated difficulties pulling it off.
The striking difference in outlooks about the potential public safety mergers really does come down to politics more than savings or logistical challenges. The $78,000 projected savings for the county, if it merges fire services with the city, is much lower than the total, estimated savings for police consolidation and is about 6.5 percent of county fire costs, only slightly more on a percentage basis than a law enforcement merger.
There might actually be a loss, in the end, because Calfire is saying its annual charge of $1.2 million to the county would drop to $850,000 within two years – which begs an entirely different question as to why the state is asking for so much money now and how it can afford to slash the price.
Supervisors, particularly Anthony Botelho who represents the San Juan area, have made it clear that growing tensions between the Mission City’s volunteer fire department and the county-contracted Calfire unit have spurred a disconnect finding its way to the supervisors chambers. Calfire in general is not exactly a fan of volunteer fire-service work because it opens the door for non-union, unpaid workers filling slots that otherwise might go to full-time, professional firefighters.
County officials appear much more intent examining the fire merger than they do the police consolidation because they have less of a political blowback on the horizon. They don’t negotiate with a union on the Calfire contract. They negotiate with Calfire, which carries little political leverage – with its one-engine, local crew – against the elected supervisors or city council members. Compare that with hundreds, if not thousands, of local voters who might feel sympathy at the polls for their local police and sheriff’s union brethren.
Hollister officials would jump at the chance for the fire merger because it would funnel some dollars into the fast-declining general fund while possibly saving a job or two, or more, down the line. City leaders, on the other hand, already nixed any possibility of examining a police merger with a no vote in January.
Perhaps police consolidation is too much for city and county leaders to handle. Perhaps the timing is wrong. But they should keep their report on the front burner and off a dusty shelf. Because some day, probably soon, when crushing deficits and the bottom line offer no other choice, they will need to reconsider the idea – whether they feel comfortable or queasy, whether it works in their favor come election season or puts them on the political plank.
