On Tuesday, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Chief Hugh Henderson provided an update on the status of the fire district to the Oakley City Council.
Henderson reported that the District shuttered two stations permanently on May 11 in Knigthsen and downtown Brentwood after a benefit assessment failed to gain public support.
It was reported that the district mailed out 38,529 ballots but just 9,495 ballots were returned which showed just 46.96 percent of the public supported paying to keep 2-stations opened while 53.04 percent rejected the idea.
The Chief said the result now means Oakley and the rest of the District will have 3 fire stations with a total of 9-firefighters covering 249-square miles. He also noted that the District will continue to work with the cities and county on other options but for now the fire crews will be working very hard.
“Our responses are going to suffer for this,” said Henderson. “We were contacted by the Insurance Services Office who will be out to re-evaluate the district based on station closures. The biggest impacts we will see are the areas more than 5-miles from a fire station who are going to be hit very hard on their fire insurance.”
Henderson explained that the public needs to realize the District is in a no win situation and is going to provide the best service with what we got.
Councilwoman Sue Higgins asked that Supervisor Mary Piepho offered to reach out and join a task force and what was the status of that offer.
Henderson said there is a meeting scheduled between Piepho and the chief of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District scheduled for next week.
Councilman Randy Pope asked what Oakley as a city can do saying the city is collecting fire impact fees from builders but that is for a fire station on E. Cypress but they will have no firefighters for the station.
Henderson replied that he recommends more Community Service Districts.
“One of the biggest things is the District is not ready to handle new growth and I think everyone needs to be aware of that,” said Henderson. “Community Services Districts are going to be a must in the future and I believe any new projects are going to see the fire District request those. Unfortunately most of the projects are out there such as East Cypress Corridor which have been on the books for a long time.”
Henderson also suggests that if Oakley, Brentwood and the county can form a partnership, there may be other options available.
Councilwoman Vanessa Perry asked the Chief for advice on whether or not the council or citizens should write to Sacramento and the County representatives to see if that would help.
Henderson replied the issue is funding based on Prop 13 and Prop 3 which put a line on Property taxes.
“There have been state level discussions, but I have not seen any traction. That would be one area in the long-term solution. Short term, we are going to be struggling,” explained Henderson. “ There is also options for voluntary tax exchanges but doubt that would happen as everyone’s budget is dependent on the money their receive and would be hard pressed to find a district with extra money willing to give it up.”
Vice Mayor Kevin Romick went over some of the history and issues the district has faced which always comes down to funding. He suggested that the fix come from the state to ensure all fire districts are properly funded like the schools
“It’s our firefighters safety and keeping their moral up. My biggest worry is one of them getting hurt. We can’t have that. That is when people will realize when thing are not going as smoothly as we made it look over the last few years,” said Henderson.
Mayor Doug Hardcastle chastised the state after bragging about its billions in reserves saying they should put some of that into a firefighter’s fund. He highlighted that the community has to keep the firefighter moral up and keep firefighters from bailing on the community to go work elsewhere.
“it’s important the firefighters know we appreciate the services they give us and we need to work to keep their moral up,” said Hardcastle.
During public comments, Oakley resident and firefighter Bob May spoke on public safety and the need for the community to be aware of what is happening in the District.
May highlighted that just last week, they had aid from CONFIRE but when another incident came up, CONFIRE was too busy and request for help came from Tracy, Clayton and Pittsburg.
“The citizens need to know that,” said May. “This is a state of emergency for East Contra Costa County,”
May also highlighted that Station 93 now has the largest area to cover in the district which includes Oakley, Bethel Island, Knightsen and a portion of Brentwood as the first due engine. He highlighted Oakley will be uncovered often in a 3-station model.
Councilman Randy Pope, during requests for future agenda items, wanted to discuss what the city can do to help with fire services whether it be pass an assessment like they do for police services, he wanted to see what Oakley could do for fire service.
2 comments
If every new development over say twenty homes has a condition such as cypress lakes that would be a step in the right direction. The district has lost millions of dollars in revenue and future revenue because the county and cities approve development without a police/fire benefit established as a condition. The most recent was 600 homes in discovery bay. The supervisor ignored a letter from chief Henderson requesting a benefit be established as a condition of development. This type of ignorance must be stressed to the cities and county more.
More facts,
This is a serious subject and you need to stop interjecting with your repetitive falsehoods. East county fire has been formed and in existence for a decade as a stand alone district. It is up to the district (ECCFPD) to assess development, not the county or county supervisor. You have been informed of this a number of times, yet just like a broken record you keep commenting on it. Enough already.
Conditions of approval are conditions put on developers by not only the county but the districts that they serve (School districts being one for example). The county does not put on assessments for special districts. Further, when assessments are conditioned, the moneys are collected as the projects are built out. Not a single one of the 600 homes you site over in DB are even close to construction. You also know very well that the benefits associated with development does not go toward staffing. It is limited to construction and equipment.
You are wrong and need to stop distracting from the issue at hand. Chief Henderson is very aware of difference between the facts and the BS you are peddling.
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