Home Oakley Letter: East Contra Costa Fire District Funding Gridlock Must End Soon

Letter: East Contra Costa Fire District Funding Gridlock Must End Soon

by ECT

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Michael R. Dupray

Currently we have only 4 fire stations and 36 firefighters for the entire East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) with a current but growing population of 115,000. In Oakley, we have one fire station with nine firefighters for 24/7 coverage. The recommended per capita number is one per 1,000 residents. Oakley alone requires a minimum of 41. For the district, 115. The districts population is growing rapidly. We need many more firefighters and the buildings with equipment to support them. Our firefighters are paid up to 35% less than other surrounding fire districts. Poor pay and lack of job security creates a high turnover rate and increases the cost of training. To fully qualify a firefighter for active duty costs between $15,000 to $20,000 over a period of 9 months. This year, funding for the Knightsen station will end and it will close on June 30.

This lack of adequate stations and staffing causes an increase in response times to fires and medical emergencies, which increases the likelihood of death, loss of property dramatically increasing fire insurance premiums when homeowner insurance policies are up for renewal.

Currently voters are unwilling to approve, with a mandatory two-thirds majority, a tax measure to assure a return to appropriate staffing levels and response times.

A gridlock has developed involving the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, East Contra Costa school districts, and other agencies serving East Contra Costa over the East County Voters for Equal Protection proposal to reallocate the 1% Prop 13 countywide property taxes from other taxing entities to the ECCFPD, over time, to assure adequate fire and emergency services from ECCPFD.  This gridlock must end.

We need a permanent solution now.

Creating an “Emergency Services Additional Revenue District” (ESARD) for ECCFPD will provide a permanent solution to assure a sustainable adequate level of emergency services indefinitely. Legislation is required to create this new type of local financing entity.  An ESARD would have powers similar to the long-established “School Facilities Improvement District”.

The ESARD will receive the additional 1% property taxes from the unincorporated communities in the ECCFPD with the ability to receive secured loans from the California Treasurer. The incorporated cities within ESARD will be exempt. The ESARD must be governed by an appointed board of directors consisting of elected and appointed officials as well as labor and public members within the boundaries of the ESARD. The creation of the ESARD should maintain existing jobs within the jurisdiction of this new district.

With the record rainfall and increase in plant fuels, this year, the fire hazard this fourth of July and the rest of the fire season, coupled with the closure of another fire station in June, is far more dangerous than ever before. This increasing danger will continue until we do something about it. Under the current service model the likelihood of all resources being committed and unavailable for additional calls within the city is high.

A consensus to secure adequate permanent funding for ECCFPD is needed now. Not the current gridlock and increased risk of late arrivals for medical emergencies and more out-of-control fires. This ESARD proposal will eliminate this problem permanently.

Oakley resident Michael R. Dupray is a Principal Radiological Control Technician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

 

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8 comments

Fire Dude May 14, 2017 - 6:09 am

Will never happen and just adds more confusion to the public much like ECV. We don’t need hail mary’s. We need the public to get education and really just understand the limitations which the District is working in.

Joe Resident May 15, 2017 - 8:18 am

New lipstick on the same tax proposals. The county and cities created this by not creating benefit assessment districts. They need to go into their budgets and take another portion of their increased revenue from development and send it rightfully to the fire district. Simple. The eagerness of approving development without protecting ECCFD is criminal yet they continue to approve and build knowing they are endangering the public safety. Criminal and greedy is what the cities and county have done to ECCFPD

Lawrence Faco May 15, 2017 - 10:17 am

The County has not approved much development at all since the fire district was formed. The development explosion has occurred exclusively within the cities of Brentwood and Oakley.

It is the fire district which is primarily responsible for creating fees charged to development for its own increased revenue not the cities and not the county. This is the problem with having the fire district run by individuals that have no idea of their roles & responsibilities.

It’s simple.

Weed abating May 15, 2017 - 5:51 pm

Wrong, panta something was approved under Piepho. Even after a letter from the fire district asking for a benifit assessment be formed. It was ignored. All three are guilty of neglect and greed.
Dangering lives and property just like the union running off the reserves. The truth is all in the actions.

Lawrence Faco May 16, 2017 - 10:05 am

@ Weed abating. Where are you getting your opinions? They are not even close to factual! The fire district is it’s own entity, and currently NOT the responsibility of the Cities or the County. Your misperceptions only add to the problem.

Pull your head out!

Still no answer May 15, 2017 - 1:20 pm

Our property values are to the pre 08′ down turn. Our property taxes are at or above where they were before the 08′ down turn when we had 8 fully staffed fire stations. So again I ask, why can we only afford 3 now?

Sue Em Now East County May 15, 2017 - 6:31 pm

Too high of a cost for pensions holds the district back. They should renegotiate different pensions for higher wages and save money. The firefighters wouldn’t notice anything but a bigger paycheck. All new money is going to unfunded liability already spent since 2002 but never shared with the public how bad it was. East County residents should make a class action lawsuit against the cities, the county, and the union. They all have destroyed this fire district with their petty politics. They should make it right and pay up.

Lawrence Faco May 16, 2017 - 10:35 am

@ Sue. What a ridiculous set of comments. Perhaps there is a place for you on the ECV board of directors. The motto seems to be- Still crazy after all these years.

Trying to get someone else to pay your bills is not an option. Own up to YOUR responsibility or just keep shufflin’ the deck.

Comments are closed.