A little
–known tax district established in 1987 could have since earned
San Benito County government millions of dollars in revenue to
bolster lacking fire protection services, according to documents
obtained by the Free Lance.
But after an initial establishment, the Board of Supervisors
never gave a final authorization to the district
– which is still on the books. Now, however, because state law
changed in 1996, its final passage would require a majority vote of
the affected residents.
A little–known tax district established in 1987 could have since earned San Benito County government millions of dollars in revenue to bolster lacking fire protection services, according to documents obtained by the Free Lance.
But after an initial establishment, the Board of Supervisors never gave a final authorization to the district – which is still on the books. Now, however, because state law changed in 1996, its final passage would require a majority vote of the affected residents.
The district, called County Service Area (CSA) 26, includes much of northern San Benito County – with some exceptions, such as properties within Hollister and San Juan Bautista.
It was originally composed of 3,400 parcels. Since 1987, that number of taxable plots would have likely grown, according to county Assessor Arnold Fontes.
After supervisors approved CSA 26 in November 1987, it was subsequently approved by both the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the California State Board of Equalization. But the Board of Supervisors, for unknown reasons, never implemented it.
“I don’t know where the problem lies,” Fontes said.
The tax – intended to be charged annually as a flat fee to the owner of each parcel – would have been used for fire protection only, according to Fontes.
It is unclear how much funding the county could have earned, said Fontes, while acknowledging the district is a “pretty big area.”
Fontes was tax assessor in 1987, but he could not recall the circumstances that led to the non-activation of CSA 26. Neither could former Supervisor Rita Bowling – who voted for its approval – when reached Thursday.
There are 54 county service areas in San Benito County – the first was established in 1957, according to Assessor’s Office documents.
County service areas are different than standard property taxes. Landowners within CSAs are charged a flat fee for each parcel, not a percentage of their properties’ value, according to County Administrative Officer Terrance May.
Each landowner is charged a “benefit assessment” to support specified services, such as street maintenance and public safety, May said.
Most special tax districts, though, aren’t as geographically expansive as CSA 26 – many encompass only small subdivisions, according to officials and documentation.
Furthermore, CSA 26 isn’t the only special district left on the county’s books without a final approval. There are several of them, such as CSA 27, which was established in 1987 to fund police protection services.
As a comparison, Monterey County maintains about 100 CSAs, according to Louis Solton, Monterey County tax collector.
“I cannot remember setting up a CSA and it not materializing,” Solton said of Monterey County.
In San Benito County, charges assessed among the CSA districts vary widely – making it difficult to estimate the amount of funding that was not collected since 1987 by not activating CSA 26.
Other districts’ annual charges range from $0 to $1,800 per parcel, according to documents.
Theoretically, if the county charged CSA 26 landowners an average of $100 annually since 1987, it would have earned a total of $5.44 million. And that’s assuming the number of parcels in the district wouldn’t have increased.
In recent years, San Benito County has faced problems with lacking fire protection services – both in Hollister and the unincorporated areas of the county, according to officials.
As recent as Feb. 10, the issue arose as the Board of Supervisors considered whether to approve a 186-lot development at San Juan Oaks.
At that meeting, supervisors expressed concerns – such as traffic and fire protection – which Board members raised before delaying a vote on the development’s approval.
Supervisor Pat Loe in particular raised questions about fire protection for the development’s residents.
She first learned about the existence of CSA 26 when reached Thursday.
“I imagine we would (consider it),” she said of re-evaluating CSA 26. “But it would still go back to how many people are going to take part, what level of service, and how much is it going to cost them,” she said.
As supervisor of District 2, Ruth Kesler represents the City of San Juan Bautista and the San Juan Canyon area. Her constituents live in areas where fire response times can be particularly high. She declined to comment on CSA 26.
She is concentrating, she said, on her re-election bid – the primary is March 2.
“Why don’t you talk to me after March 2,” she said.
For fire protection, the county contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire, which operates one engine and a few firefighters out of a station on Fairview Road. The City of Hollister operates one station and is expanding to a second in 2005. San Juan Bautista maintains a volunteer department.
Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer said the CDF station has offered a “very good service,” but the entire county lacks in fire protection, he said.
Ideally, there would be two or three continuously operating stations in county limits, along with another two or three within Hollister, he said.
“In the perfect world, they’d have a station out by San Juan Oaks,” he said.
Whether May believes there is a lack of local fire protection, he said, “I think we could provide more fire services if we had more revenue.”
