Delaying for a week what is almost certainly a vote to close four fire stations in central Contra Costa County, the Board of Supervisors, acting as the Board of Directors for the Contra Costa County Fire District, took several hours of public testimony and asked Fire Chief Daryl Louder for more information.
Louder, citing the failure of voters in November to pass Measure Q, which would have imposed a $75 percent tax on homes, said that declining property tax revenue and increasing costs of health care and pensions have left with fire district with no option but to close, at least temporarily, four fire stations.
They are:
- Station 4 at 700 Hawthorne Dr. in Walnut Creek
- Station 11 at 6500 Center Ave. in Clayton
- Station 12 at 1240 Shell Ave. in Martinez
- Station 16 at 4007 Los Arabis Ave. in Lafayette
Louder told the board that the response times are already above that of national standards, and the closure of four additional stations will only make the situation worse. He is proposing the increased use of reserve firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to help offset the reduction in firefighting staff.
Closing the four stations will save a total of $10 million, Louder said.
Elected officials and members of the public from each affected city rose to express concern about the closures, and asked to look for options that would preclude closing stations.
"The public has spoken, and the fire district has to live within its means," said board chairwoman Mary Piepho, who noted that a fire station closed in her East County neighhorhood last year, a victim of similar budget woes.
Patch will continue to follow this story as it unfolds. Stay tuned.
Could a third person be a reservist?
BTW Onions, most of us aren't afraid to use our real names..we are all friends here, right?
BTW: which station is serving you...we want to let the Board know you are volunteering YOUR fire station for the chopping block.
Cheryll - Real names? So you and Lindy weren't given last names at birth? And I am using my real name. Onions and Opinions is my first and middle name. What can I say? My parents were hippies. MakeYouCry is my last name. It's Irish.
My parents knew CPR but they were doctors so perhaps that's not quite fair. Oh, yes, Cheryll (with two "L"s 'sup with that) even hippies become doctors. Scary. I know.
I agree that the funding mechanism for redevelopment agencies is questionable but note that while fire departments are affected (averaging 12% of property tax revenues), schools are affected four times as much. And I agree that "saving for a rainy day" is a concept completely foreign to government unless a law is put in place forcing it. While CCCERA has earned over the past 20 years close to the 7.75% they project for the future, they have only earned 5% over the past ten years. This means they must have earned over 13% in the first ten years. If they had used those earnings to overfund their plan by about 35%, they would be fully funded today. But that is not how government works. MOFD, which has seen revenues increase at twice the rate of inflation while population-served has remained static over the 15 years since they were founded, has managed to spend it all and cannot balance their budget this year. Government is supposed to have the long view not opt for the quick fixes.
As for first responders, I agree what people do is their first response. But being able to slap a siren on the car and speed down San Miguel, I don't get to do.
And so it has come to pass. ConFire is closing 14% of its stations so it can reduce staff by 14% with more cuts coming. Nowicki's and some other retirements in excess of $200,000 are the exceptions, not the rule, but even the average cost per firefighter is staggering. The Orinda Task Force report shows the average MOFD firefighter costing $235,000 with that cost increasing to over $300,000 if amounts are allocated for currently underfunded retirement liabilities. (http://g.virbcdn.com/_f/files/c2/FileItem-265318-Table_IV3_employee_cost.pdf) This cannot be maintained. Orinda and Moraga already spend over half of their local taxes on MOFD (MOFD's budget exceeds the combined budgets of Orinda plus Moraga). Everyone appreciates your commitment to emergency services but you, and others in your profession, have to start expecting, possibly demanding, reasonable compensation so you can provide the service you want to give.