San Benito County can no longer afford to fund its current level
of fire protection and will consider activating a special tax
district
– established in 1987 but never given final authorization – to
avoid cutting services.
San Benito County can no longer afford to fund its current level of fire protection and will consider activating a special tax district – established in 1987 but never given final authorization – to avoid cutting services.
County Administrative Officer Terrence May last week reported to the Board of Supervisors a projected $400,000 shortfall to the county’s fire fund. It’s part of an estimated $4.1 million county deficit for the coming fiscal year.
The Board, he said, has two options: either substantially cut the current level of fire protection or find an alternative source of revenue.
“It raises a policy issue that the Board will have to consider very carefully,” May said.
A 1-percent property tax in the unincorporated area funds fire protection. With the money, the county contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire for services at a Fairview Road station and, during the winter months, at a CDF station in Paicines.
The county also maintains a volunteer department and pays for its members’ equipment, according to May.
Although revenues have kept up with costs in recent years, rising salaries and workers’ compensation have put the fire fund $400,000 in the red, May said.
The county’s fund was short between $250,000 and $300,000 this fiscal year. But surpluses from previous years – which are now dried up – made up the difference.
“We have a level of service that we cannot afford to maintain at this point,” May said.
To compensate for the rising costs – and to establish a a potentially stronger fire-fighting force in the future – the Board will consider activating County Service Area (CSA) 26, he said.
That tax district includes all of San Benito except Hollister and San Juan Bautista. The Board established it 17 years ago and – for unknown reasons, and after state certification – never gave it the final stamp of approval.
Senior officials, county planners and Board members have no answers as to why the district has not been activated.
The county may have lost out on millions in potential revenues to bolster what many believe is insufficient fire protection services – especially since the area’s growth boom.
The precise amount is unclear because each parcel within a CSA is charged an annual flat fee, which was never set for CSA 26.
“The Board’s budget committee is very interested in pursuing the possibility of activating that county service area,” May said, “at least putting that idea out on the table for people to consider.”
The county is currently examining legal ramifications of activating such a long-dormant tax district. It may now require a vote of the public because of legislation passed in 1996.
Most of the county’s 54 CSAs were established for small subdivisions to fund services like street maintenance and lighting.
None are as expansive as CSA 26 and another countywide district, CSA 27, which was intended to help buoy police protection. That district, also authorized by the Board in 1987, was also never established.
Supervisors Pat Loe and Richard Scagliotti – who make up the budget committee – will be meeting in the coming weeks.
Loe acknowledged the Board is concerned about the shortfall, and that members are unsure, at this point, how to close the gap. She believes the Board should consider activation of CSA 26.
“Yes I do. I think we should look into that,” said Loe, adding, “We should look at anything possible at this point.”
Board members, who acknowledged being unaware of CSA 26 before a Free Lance report in February, discussed a possible deal with San Juan Oaks on April 13 to shore up fire protection.
In a trade-off for a 186-lot development and golf resort under consideration, the Board requested that San Juan Oaks build a fire station and furnish it with a fire engine.
The club’s General Manager Scott Fuller objected to building a fire station. He pointed out to the Board that San Juan Oaks agreed to provide land for a new station and to establish a separate CSA for the development.
Fuller also said he offered that San Juan Oaks would “help take the lead in spearheading the utilization of CSA 26.”
Now, Fuller said, he’s pleased the plan is progressing. And San Juan Oaks is willing to work with the Board, even build a fire station, he said, but one that is a “reasonable, truly adequate fire station for our area.” Fuller said inclusions to such a deal should be consistent with a development’s impact on the community.
If a fire station is built there, which wouldn’t be for several years, the county would fund its staffing and maintenance.
The proposal – which has not been given a final approval – is back on the Board agenda Tuesday. The Planning Department staff, however, has requested an extra week.
Still, even more exchanges await between planners and supervisors before the project gets a final approval and potentially breaks ground.
May commended the Board for its aggressiveness with San Juan Oaks. But there is still a wider, and immediate, deficit problem – one he says will only get worse.
“I think the Board is open to a range of possibilities at this point,” May said. “Fire protection is a very critical service.”
