An overflow crowd of 50 gathered together at the Schell-Vista Fire Station on the same night as the Giants were beating the Royals in Game 1 of the World Series. Fire protection taking precedence over baseball, residents of Sonoma Valley sat to hear county staff discuss what fire services they can expect in the future, and what they can determine they need.
“We have three principles guiding us as we review our fire services system in the county,” said Chris Thomas, assistant Sonoma County Administrator. “There should be no loss of services; the plans should be cost-effective; and we should all try to take a county-wide view of what will be best for future fire protection.”
The county’s Board of Supervisors has organized a series of fire service meetings, which will collect data for a Countywide Advisory Committee that will report back to them during the next year. The results of these meetings and the committee are designed to create an over-arching assessment of what the fire protection services of Sonoma will look like in the future. Changes to demographics, infrastructure and budgets are all included in the analysis that Thomas said was designed to “seek a more effective, efficient, and sustainable fire service system in the county, particularly the unincorporated areas.”
Mark Bramfitt, executive officer for the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) said that the county’s real issue is how to pay for expanding fire protection services.
“Volunteer fire departments have significant funding problems and the county is looking at a situation in which many of those departments are not sustainable without more money,” said Bramfitt.
Schell-Vista Fire Chief Ray Mulas praised the presentation and goals of the meetings, but said he was holding his judgment until he saw actual data.
“It’s a good thing. It’s a good presentation and I think everyone wants what is best for county fire protection. But I’m hoping this isn’t an attempt to push an agenda, or establish some sort of one-size-all approach that may save money but does not meet the needs of the people,” said Mulas.
The Sonoma County Fire Service annual budget is upwards of $80 million, with cities, individual fire districts and county residents paying the costs. There are 15 volunteer fire companies and 225 volunteer firefighters in the outlying areas, with the quality of coverage and the continued ability to recruit volunteers becoming a challenge. Issues such as an aging county population and the high costs of living in Sonoma are among worries people have in recruiting volunteers for the future of their fire protection.
Many of the residents of Sonoma Valley do not live within specified fire districts, and are protected under a county system of contracts with local fire departments. But according to some fire department officials, this contractual relationship can have limits, such as funding for emergency calls.
“The county pays us a stipend to go into some of these areas we don’t service, but they will only reimburse us for one engine. If we need more then that to do our job, we have to pay for that out of our own budget,” said Schell-Vista Fire Commissioner Ernie Loveless.
Bramfitt said the primary issue is not allocating current funds but increasing the budget. But he said part of the problem was the nature of assessing future emergencies.
“I always think these fire fighters can be their own worst enemy. They do such a good job with the limited resources they have that it’s then harder to explain to rate payers why they need to pay more,” said Bramfitt.
“The county recognizes that we need more funding. We need a bigger pie. The cost of fire protection has gone up over the years and has risen ahead of inflation. If that means taking money from the General Fund, or asking voters to pass an increase in taxes, then that has to be on the table. I think the voters are ready to listen and be educated on these matters,” Bramfitt added.
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