We certainly don’t expect the current county Board of
Supervisors to know of every item that was passed in recent or
distant memory.
We certainly don’t expect the current county Board of Supervisors to know of every item that was passed in recent or distant memory.
But now that the Free Lance has pointed out in an exclusive story that a tax district was approved and established in 1987, there should be a call to action.
The overlooked County Service Area (CSA) 26 could have helped rake in millions of dollars by now toward much-needed county fire protection.
The district includes much of northern San Benito County and was originally scheduled to charge a flat fee from the 3,000-plus land parcel owners.
Now such a charge would be subject to a vote of the affected residents.
Well, why not put it to a vote and let the residents decide?
This might help alleviate the need to demand unrealistic – and in some recent cases unlawful – demands from potential land developers such as the San Juan Oaks project.
Here is a possible source of fire protection funding that would benefit the landowners and the county as a whole for a potentially minimal charge.
The alternative is to continue playing political football with a sound proposal such as the one from San Juan Oaks, asking relatively small project developers to pay the price for overlapping and expensive county infrastructure that has been allowed to get stuck in the mud.
When questioned by the Free Lance, Supervisor Pat Loe – who was especially vocal on sticking San Juan Oaks with an oversized fire protection tab – kept an open mind to the possibility of resurrecting the tax district through a proper vote and overall appraisal.
Supervisor Ruth Kesler, whose expansive District 2 area would especially benefit from such a plan of action, declined to comment on CSA 26, saying her March 2 re-election bid took precedence.
That’s not the course voters should want to hear when a viable solution to a pressing problem – a lack of adequate county fire protection – is at hand.
The Board of Supervisors should put politics aside, especially in its already muddy dealing with the San Juan Oaks development, to take a long, hard look at what has been overlooked for 27 years: a potential source of funding for helping protect our county from deadly and destructive fires.
