Agenda Item #8 September 26, 2018 Over a decade of studies The - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

STUDY SESSION ON THE STATE OF FIRE DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY AND OPTIONS FOR FINANCES AND ALTERNATIVE GOVERNANCE MODELS

Agenda Item #8 September 26, 2018

Over a decade of studies

The central questions for all of these studies and reports were:

• How to stabilize poor, rural districts;

and/or

• Whether it is possible to increase

efficiency and/or provide better fire service with fewer districts It’s not a new issue…

3 September 28, 2018

It’s not unique to EDC

4 September 28, 2018

San Diego - September 14, 2018 Ventura - September 15, 2018 San Bernardino – August 29, 2018

Agenda

• 1. Review of LAFCO Process
• 2. Uniqueness of Fire Services
• 3. Setting in El Dorado County
• 4. Funding for Fire Districts
• 5. How Did We Get Here?
• 6. Options
• 7. Presentation by John Traylor – SD LAFCO
• 8. Input from the Audience

LAFCO Process

• Only under limited circumstances

can LAFCO initiate its own petitions:

–Consolidations –Mergers –Dissolutions –Establishment of subsidiary districts

LAFCO Process

• LAFCO initiated proposals must be consistent

with a recommendation or conclusion from a sphere of influence study, special study, or municipal service review

• All other types of petitions (annexations,

detachments, reorganizations, etc.) must be initiated by an outside party

Initiation of LAFCO Process

A consolidation or a reorganization can be initiated by:

• 5, 10, or 25% of registered voters or

landowners within each district, or in some cases, area to be reorganized, depending on how a proposal is processed.

• Resolution of an affected local agency

(e.g., county, city, special district).

Initiation of LAFCO Process

A consolidation or a reorganization can be initiated by:

• As discussed earlier, a resolution by

LAFCO consistent with special study, sphere of influence, or Municipal Service Review under the circumstances outlined earlier.

Normal LAFCO Process

Protest Provisions

• LAFCO initiated

proposal: 10% protest in any (one) district will trigger election in all districts.

Protest Provisions

• Non-LAFCO initiated

proposal: If any affected district objects to reorganization, then 25% protest in any (one) district will trigger election where protest is registered.

Protest Provisions

• Non-LAFCO initiated

proposal: If affected districts do not object to reorganization, then 25% protest in entire territory will trigger election in all districts.

The Day After

• Going through LAFCO process,

regardless of method of initiation:

– Only way to have a district cease to exist as a legal entity – Property taxes are transferred; possible extension of any special tax and CalPERS contract – Possibility of re-opening the property tax allocation for an area

The Day After

• Going through LAFCO process,

regardless of method of initiation:

–Labor agreements will need to be considered as having a fiscal and/or a political impact –The governing and operating structure can be structured in a way that maintains some level of local control

Uniqueness of Fire Services

• It must be kept in mind that fire

suppression is different from other types of services provided by other local governments

–Services must be provided in a time sensitive manner –Heavily regulated

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Uniqueness of Fire Services

• It must be kept in mind that fire

suppression is different from other types of services provided by other local governments (cont’d)

–Labor intensive & specialized –Equipment has a limited shelf life –Cannot be outsourced to private entities

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Regulations & Guidelines

• State and Federal regulations require the

safety of the firefighter

• The same amount of the following is

required for career and volunteer firefighters:

–Training –Equipment –Fire response

Command and Control

District A: – Mix corps of career and volunteer firefighters – Two battalion chiefs (salaried) – One fire chief (salaried)

Command and Control

District B: – Volunteer corps – One fire chief (salaried)

Command and Control

District A District B

Command and Control

New district: – Mixed corps of career and volunteers firefighters – Three battalion chiefs (salaried) – One fire chief

Command and Control

New district savings? – Facility, equipment and apparatus costs likely to remain the same – District B’s firefighters were volunteers, so no salary savings – One fire chief’s salary is saved; savings partially offset by salary of new battalion chief.

Command and Control

Still worth doing – Some benefit savings from replacement of chief, depending on the difference in levels of benefits – Back office and operational savings (payroll processing and human resources; administrative support; district counsel costs)

El Dorado County Fire Districts

13 Agencies total

• One city department
• One CWD
• Two CSDs
• 9 FPDs
• EMS provided by 2 fire-

based JPAs

Funding

Primary sources of FPD funding:

• General/discretionary spending

–Property taxes* –Special taxes* –Strike Team funds

* Regular, consistent and ongoing

Funding

Primary sources of FPD funding:

• Dedicated sources for specific

expenditures

–Capital improvement plans –Benefit assessments* –Facility districts* –Grants

* Regular, consistent and ongoing

Funding

• From the 2010 Fire and Emergency Services Study:

How did we get here?

• Proposition 13 not only capped the

amount of property taxes that could be collected, it also froze the proportional share of PTs that a district could receive

–Impacted poorer, volunteer districts

• Demographic changes and changes to

rural communities means that the days

• f bucket brigades are over

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No Easy Answers?

• Financing issues have been known for years
• Districts proactive with certain cost-saving

methods and practices – Joint training – Single dispatch – Some joint purchases of equipment – Joint grant applications – Automatic aid – Incident command agreements

No Easy Answers?

• Options

–Full contract for services –Consolidation or reorganization –San Diego/San Bernardino models –Funding option

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Concluding Thoughts

• Consolidating districts will save money in the

long term, but not in the short term and not enough to address immediate needs

• Stable districts will resist annexing or

consolidating with poorer districts without the poorer district shoring up its finances first

• All parties are nearly tapped out. No one

agency can shoulder the full cost of fixing the problem by itself

Alternatives

• Alternatives to going through LAFCO

process:

–Functional consolidation (almost there) –Administrative consolidation –Memorandum of Understanding –Join Powers Agreement