Tonight: ECCFPD Set to Consider Revenue Enhancement Measure on June 2014 Ballot

Tonight, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District will begin talks about potentially placing a revenue enhancement measure on the June 2014 ballot to ensure fire stations remain open after a FEMA Grant expires in November 2014. If the District does not obtain new revenues, it will not be able to continue to fund current staffing or service levels. Without new revenue, Staff expects that the Board will be asked to close two of its five stations no later than November 2014, returning to service levels akin to what the District provided for a brief time prior to receiving the SAFER grant to re-open two closed stations in 2012.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:30 at Oakley City Hall.  Below is the information provided in the ECCFPD Board Packet.

RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION

Provide direction to staff.

PREVIOUS ACTION

At the August 5, 2013 Board meeting, Board members indicated a desire to discuss what steps would be required to draft and place a parcel tax on an upcoming ballot for voter consideration, what the schedule for a potential ballot measure might look like, and whether to direct Staff to undertake efforts to prepare for Board consideration a proposed resolution to place a measure on the ballot.

SUBJECT BACKGROUND

District Budget Projections:

The District is considering a proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2013-14 of $11,947,734. Revenues are estimated to be $12,781,653, including $3,840,000 in funds from a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant, which grant will expire as of November 2014. Without additional revenues, the District projects that revenues will fall to $10,546,031 for Fiscal Year 2014-15 and to $9,516,461 in Fiscal Year 2015-16. Assuming current service and staffing levels – consisting of a five-station model with 50 employees – remain the same, anticipated expenditures will rise to $13,479,461 in Fiscal Year 2014-15 and to $14,193,165 in Fiscal Year 2015-16. If revenues and expenditures grow apart as expected, the District’s operating reserve of $2,099,760 (as of the beginning of Fiscal Year 2013-14) will be depleted by the end of the fiscal year. Absent new revenue or cuts in services and staffing, the budget forecast portends a deficit of $833,670 by the end of Fiscal Year 2014-15, growing to $5,510,374 a year later.

If the District does not obtain new revenues, it will not be able to continue to fund current staffing or service levels. Without new revenue, Staff expects that the Board will be asked to close two of its five stations no later than November 2014, returning to service levels akin to what the District provided for a brief time prior to receiving the SAFER grant to re-open two closed stations in 2012.

The District explored and rejected alternative revenue enhancement options to a parcel tax in 2011-12 – namely the levy of a special assessment and establishment of user fees for cost recovery of certain services. The District adopted a resolution (Measure S) putting a parcel tax to the voters in June 2012, which tax failed. Staff seeks direction from the Board on whether to study parcel tax options for 2014, as set forth above.

Special Tax:

At the Board’s direction, Staff would begin the process of studying potential tax structures to maintain current District services into the future. In general, a special tax may be imposed on every property in the District to fund any of the District’s authorized purposes. It would be levied on a parcel basis rather than on the basis of assessed valuation (i.e., it could be a flat amount per parcel, or it could vary by parcel size or type of use or number of units; but it could not be a function of the assessed value). A tax must be submitted to an election and approved by a two thirds vote of the registered voters in the District. The formal process for considering a tax would begin with a public hearing by the Board and the adoption of a resolution calling for an election.

The District would then be responsible for a share of election costs. Such costs are calculated by the county on a per-voter basis, with costs of each ballot spread across the entities with elections occurring (which means that a local agency’s share of costs for an election during a statewide election are lower than when only one or a few agencies have elections occurring at the same time). Staff is awaiting an estimate from the County of such costs. The estimate provided to the Board in 2012 was $100,000-150,000; assuming a June 2014 election (coinciding with a State gubernatorial primary election), election costs are likely to be similar.

The major advantage of a special tax is the flexibility of funding. This could include services such as fire suppression and advanced life support, in addition to facilities and/or equipment as necessary. A disadvantage is the “super-majority” voting requirement of a two-thirds voter approval.

Staff recommends that the Board consider pursuing a measure for the June 3, 2014 ballot to minimize election costs and allow for the public to vote on a tax and, if it is adopted, to get on the 2014-15 tax roll so that revenue would be received by the District in December 2014, the month after the SAFER grant expires.

Public Input:

If the Board directs Staff to pursue a potential revenue enhancement measure, Staff would seek consultant services to assist in gathering public input on key elements of a potential parcel tax, such as:

• Type and Amount of tax – For example, 2012 Measure S proposed a tax of $197 per year on each parcel of real property in the District with adjustments annually not to exceed 3%.
• Tax schedule – Considerations include (a) whether a proposed tax would be incremental (e.g., starting at an introductory level and then increasing each year (or multiple years)); and (b) whether the proposed measure would sunset (stop being collected) after a specified number of years.
• •Defined purpose/use of tax proceeds – For example, 2012 Measure S proposed use of tax funds to enhance fire prevention, protection, fund capital improvements and additional paramedic services. Staff anticipates than any measure which might be submitted to the voters in June 2014 would be developed to fund current service levels.

 

Ballot Measure Schedule:

If the Board desires to direct staff to move forward with a potential parcel tax, the District would be required to meet deadlines, assuming a June 5, 2014 election date, including but not limited to:

Date Action

• March 7, 2014 Deadline to file resolution with elections official
• March 12, 2014 Last day to withdraw or amend resolution
• March 13, 2014 Elections official will do a random drawing to assign an identifying letter to each measure on the ballot
• March 16, 2014 Estimated deadline to submit primary arguments – this date is set by the elections official based on time necessary to produce voter information pamphlet; this date may vary.
• March 17, 2014 – March 27, 2014 Estimated 10 day public inspection period for primary arguments. This period must begin the day after the deadline to file arguments which is set by the elections official.
• March 28, 2014 Estimated deadline for authors of primary arguments to file rebuttal argument if applicable – this date is set by elections official based on time necessary to produce voter information pamphlet; this date may vary.
• March 29, 2014 – April 8, 2014 Estimated 10 day public inspection period for rebuttal arguments. This period must begin the day after the deadline to file rebuttal arguments which is set by the elections official.

Limits on Use of District Resources:

District Staff and Board members are prohibited from using any agency resources to campaign for or against any ballot measure such as a parcel tax, including use of Staff time, computers, etc. If the Board directs Staff to move forward with developing a proposed parcel tax measure, Staff and Legal Counsel will provide further reference materials, training and advice on compliance with these prohibitions.

Source:
ECCFPD Board Packet