The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District conducted seven community meetings in January to educate and receive input on a potential parcel tax to help keep two stations open when the FEMA Grant expires in November.
Unfortunately, residents as a whole were not engaged with just 144 people out of a coverage area of over 100,000 participating. It highlights that not enough people see closing two stations as a problem. It would leave the District to cover 250-square miles with just three stations. Remember, a few years back the District was operating under a 7-station model.
Here is a look at the breakdown.
- January 9, Bethel Island – 38 in attendance
- January 15, Clayton – 3 in attendance
- January 16, Oakley – 26 in attendance
- January 22, Byron – 18 in attendance
- January 23, Brentwood – 28 in attendance
- January 29, Discovery Bay –13 in attendance
- January 30, Knightsen –18 in attendance
The comments reported by the District in their staff report are telling of why a fire tax will be difficult (not impossible) to pass at this time. For starters, there is not enough time to educate the public on all of these concerns shown below:
- The public must be given information on the exact parcel tax amount now or as soon as possible
- Cities should pay an “in lieu property tax”
- The District must reorganize and change its business model, i.e. use Paid On Call firefighters
- Given that the property tax revenues have dropped and there is an income problem, why would you want to reduce service rather than pay what you did before?
- Pensions are ridiculously excessive
- Other retiree benefits are unfairly high and exceed what is available to most private sector employees
- The District must solve its problem for the long term; a parcel tax should be higher than discussed and run much longer
- Explain the impact of fire service levels on insurance premiums
- You are threatening us –Don’t
- What are you going to do about BI/ Byron/ Discovery Bay’s closed stations?
- The District has an income problem rather than an expense problem
- We must have 5 engines
- Why send a fire engine to a medical call?
- What happened to extra tax revenues collected before 2008?
- We are seniors, a new $100 tax is a lot
- Don’t go over $100
- What about requiring Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) for new developments to cover District costs?
- Requiring CFDs may backfire and drive developers away
While we certainly could issue a response to each of the comments above, it will not change opinions because when it comes to paying more taxes, people first must feel that urgency to make change and experience first hand what a 3-station model will do to their level of service.
Essentially, those against this tax must realize there is a problem by experiencing it first hand.
Currently, East Contra Costa County does not have 2 out of 3 people in East Contra Costa County admitting fire service will be a problem at 3-stations which is why a tax will be difficult to pass.
Last time you will remember the naysayers stated stations would not close and firefighters would not be laid off–both happened and by dumb luck ECCFPD won a $7.8 million FEMA Grant to buy two years time to resolve the problem. The solution never did occur.
This time around, there is no FEMA Grant as ECCFPD is at the bottom of the list. While its a given ECCFPD will close Knightsen, it’s only a matter of time before discussion and arm wrestling begins on whether the second station closing will be downtown Brentwood or Discovery Bay.
While I certainly would support the tax measure if the board moves forward, however, its hard to justify supporting a Board decision to spend limited district funds on a tax measure which will likely fail at this time because firefighters are their own worst enemy. They have been providing amazing service to prevent the public from observing the Districts shortcomings since being reduced from a 7-station District.
They have done incredible work which for the most part has gone unnoticed by the public. Without the manpower or geography on their side going forward, to no fault of their own, these incidents they were able to prevent in the past from becoming major incidents may no longer occur.
Bigger incidents are a given while the firefighters are left working harder and longer which is a shame.
There is no doubt East Contra Costa County is in for pain by November, its just a matter of how much pain it will take before public opinion as a whole changes.
By Michael Burkholder
email me
38 comments
This picture is very telling. The district is going to be forced to let a lot of s–t burn because of lack of manpower.
For once we agree, if its not going to pass, don’t spend the money. The people who participated showed enough interest to highlight we dont want a tax and there are other solutions
So name your solutions, Bobby. To include the downsides.
The second part is what derails the Volunteer FD cheer leaders every time. You all suddenly go deaf and dumb.
100% correct. Until the public sees a need, no tax will pass.
I hope you are right. We have done just fine in the past. Just a bunch of hysteria to get more money for their pensions. If there is any agency that needs more money, its the police who put themselves in danger 1000 times more than fire fighters and do a work load 100 times more.
We live in rural Clayton and are already paying an extra assessment for fire. We are being taxed/assessed to death. There are adequate funds, it is the allocation that is the problem.
I think the public sees and feels the need but frankly all these taxes are pricing homeowners out of the market.
If 30 cents a day is pricing you out of the market, you have much bigger problems my friend.
When people will pay $40, $50 or even $100/mo for cable TV but can’t see a priority in paying $9/mo for public safety, you have a very upside down society.
It’s all about perspective.
Buy A Clue: Well Mr. Wonderful let me tell you we do not have cable. We have this thing which is the next to go. When two people in a home have major medical bills let me tell you you are ****** despite Captain Kangaroo in the White House. I know people who pay 300 a month for cable etc and I refuse. I thank God every day for food and half my medicine. At over $3,000 a month not even Captain Kangaroo can help.
Now, do you want to talk about perspective?
Julio, we could instead talk about anger management issues.
You took the cable example literally. If you think you’re saving $98 and there is no downside to opposing the measure, then you lack the perspective of which I speak. Volunteers mean you don’t pay the proposed tax, but at what ancillary cost?
How much does fire insurance go up? How much does your property value go down due to the substandard fire protection? How many businesses move out due to the increasing fire insurance costs and increased risk? What does their exit do to the snowballing reduction in tax base and further lowering of property values?
These are the issues I’ve raised many times. But you have NEVER seen the opposition address them. They can’t. They won’t. They are simply in the business of leading sheep to slaughter under their aliases so they have plausible deniability in their personal lives that they contributed to the impending doom.
Don’t kid yourself. 3 stations trying to cover 250 sq miles will result in doom. You and I just don’t know what day it will happen. You will see a significant portion of a block of these zero lot line homes go up or a strip mall or some other major event. It’s what happens when resources are stretched too thin. Will probably come as a secondary incident. All engines at a structure fire when a second one breaks out and nobody is available to answer.
On your medical rant, if you’re putting out 3K in medical every month then it’s in your best interest to stop dicking around on a message board and pick up the phone. Call the people at coveredca.com No matter what your pre-existing conditions situation, unless you have income above the limits you can buy a platinum health plan that will save you money. Platinum has low aggregate deductibles and out-of-pocket. Not opinion, but fact.
Your facts about the fire tax are great but please don’t tell me about my medical expenses. I’m on the phone every day. Your facts there are not correct. Sorry that is the reality. By the way, that was no where near a rant.
Brentwood requires CFDs on all new development. It is only fair that new development pays for the additional burden they put on the current level of service. Oakley should start requiring the same. It hasn’t stop the developers at all.
This is an interesting mindset. Unfortunately it doesn’t acknowledge a couple of the facts.
Fact 1 – This district is improperly funded with volunteer level proportioning from property tax revenues. By way of comparison, ConFire receives about twice the percentage of a property tax dollar to deliver services.
Fact 2 – All new homes pay the same 1% property taxes, plus all the bonds that existing homeowners do. It is inaccurate to claim they are diluting the service since they pay the same rate you do. The problem goes back to Fact 1.
Then there are those like a poster above who talks about an existing assessment fee they recently started paying. Presumably talking about the $150 annual wild lands fee. That fee is to the State. ECCFPD doesn’t receive any of that.
This is part and parcel of the problem. People think taxes and fees paid to government just go into one giant bucket that all agencies pull from. THEY DON’T!
It’s in all your best interests to get a handle on the revenue streams, how the department is funded and WHY the current method of funding is inadequate. Only then can you be an informed voter who can make an intelligent decision at the ballot box.
CFDs are not the solution. A simple and basic math exercise could explain to you why that is. You only make housing less affordable and push business out of East County with that short sighted, band-aid approach. It’s not much different than a Mello Roos tax, which is a buyer deterrent.
Same goes for the volunteer cheer leaders. What those people are effectively saying is they are willing to keep new jobs and business from coming to East County because they want to do fire services on the cheap. When saving a buck is your first and only priority, the negative consequences eventually bite you on the ass.
I hate when the author is right.
“They have done incredible work which for the most part has gone unnoticed by the public”.
REALLY?! I am one of those neighbor’s who watched my neighbor’s house burn, even though the house was not on fire when the Fire department got there. 10 stations, 40+ firemen and all the tools they had did not help my neighbor from losing her home.
@Delta, which incident are you referring to?
@ Delta,
Really?
If what you say is true, then you probably don’t want to imagine what would have happened if there was little to no emergency response. How many more homes and lives might have been lost? Without firefighters, the fire only goes out when it runs out of fuel to consume. Your neighbors house was most likely an exposure and burned as a result of an indefensible space and being in too close proximity to a home that was already on fire. It happens more often than you may realize. This is why we need a fully staffed fire district, not a half assed one.
Let’s not forget the firefighters are NOT the ones who started your neighbors house on fire. But they obviously put it out, in the best and most reasonable time that they could. So maybe instead of saying “Really” you need to say “thank you”.
As a matter of fact you should be glad they saved your home, or the other homes in the vicinity.
If everyone would just think, not about the $10 or so a month in parcel taxes! What I want people to think about is the price you put on a loved one’s life! That is what you are really talking about. Minutes in response time can make the difference in life and death! These men and women are saving lives every day…the length of time you’re waiting when a life is on the line is what you are voting about!
Buy a clue needs to take their own advice. There is a level of service based on current homes and businesses. That is what we have been paying for, to maintain that level of service. When you add substantial additional residences and businesses it requires a substantial increase in the number of service providers and equipment to maintain the level of service. A CFD can assist in paying for that additional equipment and manpower. They may not be the entire answer but they do work and work well.
Linda,
No offense but your ignorance is showing. We are not paying for the level of service we are currently enjoying, nor have we been for quite some time. Unfortunately for all of us the chickens have come home to roost. The district has been spending down reserves for years now and the grant gave us a few year repercussion. It came with a “catch” which you just proved to be true. It provided us with a short term fix, false sense of security and entitlement. Its simple, the district has never been funded to meet the needs of the communities.
As for CFD’s they are not the answer. they are far from it. You incorrectly assumed that Brentwood had created a CFD to fund the fire department. You probably should have been paying closer attention when the (former) Brentwood city manager Donna Landeros cleverly stated the CFD moneys were slated for many uses; excluding the fire district. She is gone, but the money continues to flow outside of the fire district. Knowing that this is a fire district and not a city fire department, her logic was not completely off base. Why should Brentwood or even Oakley subsidize a department that is a special district and not a city service? You may wish to brush up on your government #101.
Unless your motives are selfish in nature, CFDs don’t fill the void. It is up to all of us to fund the service that we require. You cannot put this on a few, when they too will also have to pay the 1 percent property taxes which come with home ownership. Unless you moved here to east county before 1978 then you are also not paying your fair share. So call it what you want, but the majority of East County residents should have to pay a retro active CFD or what’s known as a new tax. A fire tax would require that everyone (not just the cities of Oakley and Brentwood) pay into the fire district. A fire tax would require that the money be used only on the fire district. A patchwork of CFD’s do neither and do nothing to address the problem.
No matter how you slice or dice it, the district has an unfunded revenue issue which was brought on by insufficient apportionment via prop #13. We only have 3 choices and no further amount of banter changes the fact.
Fix the apportionment issue (state level)
Pass a tax (local)
Go without
You missed the point, Linda.
For 35 years you have been paying half price or volunteer level taxes for what is now a professional fire department.
There is one, if not two former Fire Commissioners who post here, or at a minimum read this blog. Neither of them did a damn thing to rectify that underfunding problem. They instead warmed a seat so they could later(now) brag about having been there. Worthless time in the position for both of them.
The proper thing to do would have been to take the fight to Sacramento and resolve the funding formulas. That didn’t happen. There is nobody on the current board with the stones to make it happen now.
The “current level of service” bit is a joke. The level of service you get is entirely predicated on the revenue the district receives. If you haven’t figured that out yet, then you are a prime example of the problem…………..low information voters.
If you take out 10,000 parcels from the district(say construction in the last 15 yrs) and the tax revenue they provide, does that put you at 5 or 7 station service you had before they got here? Because the way you explained your logic says it would.
Think about it.
Linda, don’t let “In DAH Clueless” pull their dumb spin on you. You have the right idea. That Idea is one of many good ones.. Ask these numbskulls why Discovery Bay has a CFD for the Sheriff, Well because they voted down a tax. Ask them why their Supervisor Piepho just passed another 600 homes and did not allow a CFD even when the ECCFPD requested to have one. So when Brentwood who has the majority vote closes the last Discovery Bay Station, you can send a thank you card to Supervisor Mary Piepho. If Mary really cared about any of us and Discovery Bay the CFD would have been a condition of the development and not even Brentwood could take that away. They should dump local 1230 and reorganize a new union. Con Fire, ECCFPD, and Orinda all have financial problems and all are dominated by local1230. Nothing will change in this fire district until it goes bankrupt which is probably the best solution for the public.
The 1% funding level was based on a time when the district provided a much lower level of EMS.
This isn’t popular with some of the more strident contributors to this website, but the County should provide more resources (money) to compensate the fire district for the emergency medical services it provides to the County’s constituents. I have seen this suggested as a potential solution/revenue source on this and other blogs only to be met with unproductive attacks from those who believe the fire district has primary responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services.
The County is legally permitted to provide more resources to the district.
I think the suggestion is a good one. Given all the services that the fire district provides in response to the County’s emergency medical services responsibilities, it is time to really consider this as a viable solution.
Don, is that you? How many aliases have you pitched that one under now? LOL
Study the concept of cause and effect. To take money from the rest of the County’s medical budget for ECCFPD, something that the entire county has access to would have to be cut for your benefit. They don’t sit on any surplus. So step up to the plate and tell us what that should be. Cutting mental health resources maybe? Cutting access at the county hospital for the poor? Maybe cutting readiness programs for natural disasters? But I’m guessing you don’t have a very good handle on the full scope of the EMS budget to begin with.
Who takes the bullet so you get to skate?
The 1% funding level has nothing to do with it. That’s the base parcel tax rate. That 1% is then proportioned out. It’s that slicing of the pie that is the problem.
@Jigs
Yep, it’s either Don, John or their trusty sidekick, Mark. None of them can disguise their ignorance very well. It’s another example of why they are banished to Misfit Island. They are, in their own unique way, nothing more than discarded and broken little toys.
p.s. I have been enjoying all of this! Keep it up.
Again with the EMS diversion??? Sorry Bub, but that diversion has already crashed and burned. The county doesn’t have a magic money machine and they have already bailed out the district. I doubt if they are that stupid to throw good money after bad. Prior to handing the district over to the current board, the county built the reserves up so that the board could move towards elections and securing local revenue…The record doesn’t lie. The current board did nothing but spend down those reserves, fail to gain an elected board or secure local revenue and as a result we are in a bit of a pickle.
The county already funds EMS and gives us additional resources (QRV’s) through a negotiated contract with EMS/AMR. So while your suggestions may seem attractive, they are not prudent. You continue to confuse factual answers and “reality” as attacks, however coming from you who believes recycling old thrown out EMS material is somehow “productive” it’s no wonder. The fact is you and others have made the same EMS suggestions which have been factually dismissed in their entirety, but either you cant comprehend our come to grips with the answers supplied to you. Like a child you repetitively ask the same question over and over in an attempt to solicit a differing response. Sorry Charlie but you will need to look elsewhere.
It is a fact that all fire departments deliver EMS. It is a fact that there is a fundamental difference between First Responder EMS (fire department) and Transport EMS (ambulance/AMR). When it comes to responsibilities, the county has responsibility only to “Transport EMS” aka ambulance service. Don’t believe me, then look it up.
Fire departments learned long ago that to stay relevant and earn their place as emergency providers that offering EMS service was a natural fit and a benefit to their job security as well as the communities well being. It is a bonus-not a requirement.
In the name of disclosure, this posting was not really meant for you, it is meant for anyone that you may have misled with your original posting.
I have sat through a graduation ceremony of 15 cadets. Up on the panel where 12 fire chiefs and or captains. For three hours each one of them stood up and brown nosed the other 11 chiefs/captains. Giving them gifts and trips. Each one of them came out of there with a couple thousand in gifts/trips paid for by the taxpayer. All I seen was a bunch of upper management of the fire district brown nosing the others for job security. A WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY. They did spend about 20 minutes on the cadets and gave the teacher who put on the class a $50 pizza certificate. SO………DON’T TELL ME THEY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY.
Joe, I don’t know who you blew in Idaho for that story, but I have to throw the BS flag.
Let me get this straight. You sat through a un-named graduation ceremony? Do you do that on a regular basis? You want us to believe that you sat there for 3 hours and watched this happen or were you just daydreaming? I have a difficult time following your story. Where did this take place?
And who gave who “trips”? If it was a graduation academy are you suggesting a new hire gave his or her boss gratuities? And you are suggesting this was all done in public right?
I’m still trying to wrap my head around your assertion where tax payer money was involved in your daydream?
Then you trip over to something about a 50 dollar pizza certificate suggesting that the district is fiscal solvent.
Your posting demonstrated one thing….Some people should not be allowed to breed.
Once again kiddies, let us review!
-The district has a permanent, long term revenue problem. A “patch” is not what is needed. A funding tax that brings the department on par with the rest of the county and surrounding areas for adequate service is a necessity. It is a “need to have” not a “nice to have”.
-The 5 year sunset is ridiculous and falls short of a realistic goal. This is based on the monumental costs associated with elections. The district does not have 100′s of thousands of dollars available spend on more elections. At a minimum, a 7 to 10 year sunset would be reasonable and most surely would have to be renewed. The problem is not going away.
-I refuse to vote for a tax simply because it meets an arbitrary figure that is claimed more palatable to some voters. This lower amount is no bargain and will put us in a worse position 5 years down the line.
-I will not vote for or support a tax that falls short of what is required to provide a base level of emergency service and leaves fire stations closed and communities without initial protection.
The recent “plan” is a day late and a hundred dollars short. The ECCFPD is not only in disarray, but lacks focus, a solid plan, and most importantly is missing a team approach that everyone can get behind.
The proposed tax is unfortunately already doomed to failure. It may have had a chance IF the district directors and firefighters, had begun with an educational campaign (at least a year in advance) demonstrating why the district has a shortfall of revenue due to a low allocation of property tax. Inclusive of a realistic amount of cost necessary to re-open closed stations in all communities could secure voters from Byron/Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and other affected areas. *Ask yourself, why would they vote for a tax no matter what the amount when their stations remain shuttered.
For a tax to succeed at the ballot box, 2/3 (66 percent) is needed. The latest direction no doubt alienates additional voters and draws a larger margin of failure.
I will not put good money behind a bad plan.
Spend time–at least a year–not a few months, educating the public. Put a solid funding plan back on the table that reopens stations and provides east county with the emergency services that it requires. Most importantly, get as many people, groups, agencies on the same page. (Right now, I see none of that taking place, and it is far too late to census build). If it fails, then at least you know you did everything you could to make the department function. It is the right thing to do.
If the tax were to pass (it will not) it would lock us in to substandard service (just like we have under the current prop. 13 allocations). The only way we get back on track is for real leadership, education of the public, and the proper funding of the district. For the public to understand this, they need skin in the game. Closing more stations (soon) is the only way to bringing public awareness in the short term. Putting a bandaid assessment out only makes a bad situation worse and smacks of mediocrity on the board.
This has nothing to do with pensions, cops, volunteers or ems. This is about timing and education. The public obviously needs to experience dialing 911 in an emergency and hearing a recording; “The number that you have dialed is no longer in service. If you believe you have dialed this number in error, please hang up and dial again”. We need to see our HO/fire insurance double, triple and quadruple! That should get our attention. That should give us “skin in the game”. Until then we are just beating a dead horse.
Then and only then will we realize the need for adequate funding.
If the tax is put forward now, the tax will fail.
Please please please, Give everyone a list of solutions instead of a list of complaints. So tiring hearing the same things over and over with no offer to come up with a solid plan or solutions. Come up with something constructive, Present it to the board and maybe you can be the hero that saves the district, Until then, you are the drowned out by all the other complainers.
@David,
It looks like you overlooked a solution that was provided by Bwood. I’m not quite sure how you missed it. Maybe, You were looking for a numbered list?
“Spend time–at least a year–not a few months, educating the public. Put a solid funding plan back on the table that reopens stations and provides east county with the emergency services that it requires. Most importantly, get as many people, groups, agencies on the same page. (Right now, I see none of that taking place, and it is far too late to census build). If it fails, then at least you know you did everything you could to make the department function. It is the right thing to do.”
I have also heard similar solutions from individuals skilled in both fire and political expertise. We don’t need a hero, we need a leader. Several sources tell me the current board members lack both qualities and are deaf to outside opinion. In my book that seals the fate of the district. If you are a firefighter here, I thank you for your service and wish you the best of luck.
This whole subject is like watching a bad rerun on TV. This same debate went down like this before the last great tax failure! It should be really clear to ECCFPD, that homeowners are not willing to foot the bill, when they consider it a safety net for pensions and not service!
Not sure what you guys think has changed other than you dropped the amount of the tax because you think that is the problem, but it isn’t!
Hold that thought, Chuck. Because when stations are closed to three(or less) you’re going to find out just how wrong your assumptions really are.
Being a CoCoTax/CCTimes drone is a sad way to go through life.
Not sure why my last reply did not show up but I am no ones drone or puppet and i think CoCoTax are a bunch of clowns! CC Times will be out of business shortly at the rate they are going. Resulting to threats didn’t work out last time did it? Now all your doing is slinging Gloom and Doom again! Some of us have assessments that are very high already (pushing 3%) and i do not see to many people volunteering to tax themselves even more! Though i did vote to do just that last time because i bought into the Gloom and Doom.
Chuck, the only thing that saved you from experiencing that gloom and doom last time was a federal grant.
There is no rich Uncle waiting in the wings this round.
Your comment brings to light one of the major failures of the Measure S campaign. That being the District not telling the public about the federal grant application that was a parallel process. Lots of people just like you are feeling they were lied to. That’s not an accurate response, but at the same time an understandable one.
If you think this round is a bluff, then you know more than I.
Talking about taxes in general does nothing to further this discussion and indicates to me that you, like many others, really don’t understand the funding mechanisms for the District. Attempting to punish ECCFPD for perceived wasteful spending in Sacramento or Wash DC is a pointless exercise that is not in your best interest.
JigsUp, I do not believe it is a threat and the doom and gloom will likely come. I am not attempting to punish anyone, I simply have no more money to keep giving! It is ridiculous the amount of taxes we pay to live in certain parts of Oakley!
All i can say to you Buy a Clue, is I voted YES last time and it failed, I am seeing the same ol song and dance from ECCFPD. What exactly has changed to make others vote yes? Your threats of gloom and doom? Some of us already have so many assessments that our tax bill is pushing 3% and we are just not willing to bear anymore of the burden!
Chuck,
Every year since prop 13 came into affect tax revenue has increased 1% except for a couple years. Also every time a home is sold a new tax rate is calculated normally higher in 30 out of 32 times. The odds of set backs in housing prices are small. Look around, they are building homes right here by the hundreds. Those all generate another 1%. The revenue will rebound and the amount of new homes built guarantees that. These puppets selling a pension bail out are just what they are puppets. Pensions will not get fully paid for even if the ballot passes. Why? because the district accumulates about $800,000 further in debt each year just for pensions.
It’s ten million behind now and does not know where to get it except demand more from the public because it over promised the firefighters. That’s an unspoken secret. The best thing the board could do is walk away and give it back to the county where the problem was created. It’s frustrating but it is what it is.
Comments are closed.