Fire Chief to Gauge Voters’ Interest: CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: Fire Protection Services May Receive Upgrade If Residents Willing to Pay
By Erin Sherbert, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Jan. 1–Fire officials are gearing up to determine whether far East County residents are willing to pay more money for enhanced fire protection services.
It will likely cost property owners between $200 and $250 to boost fire personal, add paramedics to each engine and increase wages for firefighters, said Bill Weisgerber, interim fire chief for East Contra Costa Fire Protection District.
But first the district must gauge whether voters would be willing to pay more for fire services. Starting early this month , the chief will host community meetings. After the meetings, the district will conduct a survey to see if voters are willing to pay that price, Weisgerber said.
“When I talk to people and they hear for $250 per year they can have a full-blown fire department, they say, ‘Where do I write my check?’ ” Weisgerber said. “But I do not think the community has truly had an option to weigh in on this; so let’s put the cards on the table and say, ‘This is what you can get for your money.’ “
The benefit assessment would raise the $7.2 million needed to add about 50 firefighters and improve overall services in the district, which covers Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Bethel Island, Byron and Marsh Creek-Morgan Territory.
Earlier this year, a fire protection services master plan concluded that far East County will eventually need 10 fire stations and three firefighters on each engine. Also, one firefighter on each engine should be a trained paramedic. It would cost the district about $18 million to achieve that level of service, according to the plan.
At that time, city leaders wanted to explore less expensive alternatives, including contracting out fire services with the California Department of Forestry. The CDF plan would still require going to property owners and asking them to approve a annual benefit assessment of approximately $125, Weisgerber said.
“I am not convinced, as a fire chief, that the CDF solution is necessarily the long-term solution to this situation,” Weisgerber said, adding that the district should retain control of its fire services.
Firefighters agree, saying if residents are going to shell out more money for fire protection services, they should have the power to decide how that money is spent, not the state, said Ron Walker, president of the United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County Local 1230.
“Why would you put your community in a situation where you lose control over your local resources and how your revenue is spent?” Walker said.
But city leaders say all options should be considered at the community level, including the CDF proposal.
“I think the people who are paying the bills for the fire service need to know there is more than one alternative,” said Donna Landeros, Brentwood’s city manager. “I believe in giving people the choice based on the best information available. If we do not present the CDF option, we left a viable option off the table.”
The cities will take a formal position on the plan, but the county Board of Supervisors will make the final decision after the community meetings and after the survey is conducted, which should be done by March, officials said.
“The threshold of higher levels of service and current district revenues is very thin, and that may need to be addressed with some additional revenue,” said Supervisor Mary Piepho, who represents portions of East County. “But the tolerance of the community to pay that is very unclear.”
Reach Erin Sherbert at 925-779-7139 or esherbert@cctimes.com.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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