Two months after Hollister Mayor Tony Bruscia received approval
from the City Council to create a task force to study fire issues
and find ways to save money, little progress has been made.
Two months after Hollister Mayor Tony Bruscia received approval from the City Council to create a task force to study fire issues and find ways to save money, little progress has been made.
He’s had problems finding willing volunteers and is inundated with more pressing issues, such as putting together the city’s budget, which has contributed to the delay, Bruscia said.
“I feel it’s really important to do it right,” he said. “And it’s not the first priority right now. It’s a priority, but it’s not first priority.”
Once the task force is formed it will discuss whether the city should consolidate with the county for joint fire protection. The group also will discuss conducting a study to determine whether contracting with the California Department of Forestry (CDF) to provide fire protection for the city would be cheaper than having a city fire department among other issues, Bruscia said.
“The most important issue is how can we work with the county to consolidate services and become more efficient,” he said.
Fire Chief Bill Garringer agreed to be part of the task force to analyze whether creating a fire district would be an appropriate cost-saving strategy for both the city and county, he said.
A fire district would consolidate all fire services within the county into one entity. It would be funded by property taxes or service fees, which would take the burden of paying for the Hollister Fire Department off the city’s general fund, Garringer said.
“Maybe then they can provide better police protection because they don’t have to worry about fire,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s feasible, but I wouldn’t mind being on a task force and looking into it.”
Bruscia has compiled a list of approximately six people so far for the task force. They range from city and county officials to fire officials and community members. He wants to enlist several more people to the task force before presenting the list to the City Council to approve at its meeting July 19, he said.
“I don’t want it to just be fire people,” Bruscia said. “I want them represented, but I want people with a different perspective. I want it to be balanced, objective and fair.”
Originally, Bruscia’s proposal to look at contracting with CDF to provide Hollister fire protection sparked a heated debate between him and the fire department because that would consolidate CDF’s services with the city’s – in essence eliminating the Hollister Fire Department.
“If CDF were contracted with, we wouldn’t be getting rid of (city firefighters)… There are a lot of calls that CDF goes to and so does the Hollister Fire Department,” he said. “I think we can provide more service to the community with less cost by working together instead of having separate entities.”
Garringer was opposed to the idea because he said CDF’s primary responsibility is to the state, not the city.
“Hollister would be giving up more than it’s getting,” Garringer said.
Both sides were able to overcome their differences through better communication and by being willing to work together to help the city cope with its budgetary problems, Bruscia said.
“We had a very good meeting with firefighters and they expressed their desire to be part of the solution,” he said.
Part of the original dissent stemmed from miscommunication and misunderstandings of what was really happening within the department, Garringer said.
“Obviously Bruscia agreed, because he asked me to stay,” Garringer said.
The chief was originally slated to be let go as part of the city’s plan to layoff employees, but was taken off the list last month.
While Garringer believes forming a fire district is the most pressing issue for the task force, he’s not against delving into other ideas that could save the city money – even contracting with CDF, he said.
“We’ll have to look at it,” he said. “My mind’s open and I’m willing to look at all of it.”
Brainstorming ideas to improve fire service in the community is long overdue, said Bob Martin Del Campo, who will be on the task force member and is the local International Association of Firefighters union president.
“I think we could do better, honestly,” he said. “We’re due for a task force to show us where we should be.”
When the task force is finalized and members begin to meet, Bruscia would like to see discussion continue for a minimum of three months, but if it proves to be a useful resource possibly longer, he said.
“Having a task force really helps the council to get more information about something without having to spend a great deal of time,” Bruscia said. “As long as it’s effective, it should be in existence.”
