Fresno reignites fire turf dispute

City Council to consider ending cooperative deal with county, and its aid.

By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee

03/04/07 06:01:18

A long-smoldering squabble between Fresno city and county fire departments is likely to flare up next week as the City Council considers ending a cooperative agreement under which the nearest engine responds to a fire.

The discussion comes as the city pushes for the county district to hand over control of the territory served by the southeast Fresno station -- along with tax revenue associated with it and other county islands.

In exchange, the city would pay the district millions of dollars over the next decade and provide firefighting service in southeast Fresno instead of the fire district.

The county district's board has rejected that idea, however, arguing that it needs the tax revenue from the southeast Fresno station and other populous, noncity pockets to pay for operations at stations in rural areas where there is less tax revenue.

"It would be catastrophic to the district and catastrophic to the people in rural areas of the county," said county Fire Chief Becky Robertson.

The city counters that it can provide service faster -- and with more firefighters -- to residents in unincorporated areas near the city.

"We are not going to do anything to hurt citizens of the city or Fresno County, but we can't subsidize Fresno County, either," said Fresno City Council Member Jerry Duncan. "We need Fresno County fire to sit down and work with us -- and the status quo is not an option."

On March 13, the City Council will discuss ending the automatic-aid agreement with the county. If it is eliminated, the city would not respond to fires in the county district.

Duncan said he is considering a one-year extension of the city-county aid agreement. "I think the city will offer an alternative," he said.

Fresno has offered to pay the county $12 million over 10 years to bring the area around county station 87, near Calwa, under city jurisdiction. Fresno City Fire Department Chief Randy Bruegman said that was a good-faith gesture to give the county fire district time to redeploy its firefighters to places where the county will have territory for years to come.

It also gives the county district more time to find additional revenue.

"Do we deal with it now or stick our heads in the sand?" Bruegman said.

But Robertson said the county could add firefighters to its southeast Fresno station to improve its response. Losing revenue from the county areas around Fresno could result in the closure of as many as four or five of the district's 13 rural stations, Robertson said.

The county district prefers a more permanent stream of money, Robertson said, and is looking to Fresno County's Board of Supervisors, cities and Local Agency Formation Commission, the agency that oversees annexations into cities, to help find solutions.

One concept Robertson wants evaluated involves receiving money from Fresno County when annexations occur.

The county gets 62% of tax revenue under its tax-sharing agreements with cities when they annex county land. The fire district historically has not received any of that money. Robertson suggests a small portion of that revenue be permanently funneled for rural firefighting services.

She also suggests a plan that when cities annex land, they allow the district to keep its portion of the tax revenue for that area and add cost-of-living adjustments in later years. Clovis, Sanger, Selma and Parlier all plan to annex large chunks of land that will bite into the county district's revenue in the next few years.

Robertson's ideas could take months to examine, officials said.

"I can appreciate their revenue issues, but I think there needs to be a rethink about what their future is to look like," Bruegman said. "This is not just a city of Fresno problem. ... There needs to be a realistic strategy on what the future of rural firefighting will look like."

The county district is operated by an independent board appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The district contracts with the California Department of Forestry for firefighting services, has a $13 million budget and covers more than 2,500 square miles.

Fresno's department has a $38 million budget and covers 110.5 square miles. In July, after the city takes over the North Central Fire Protection District under a contract, it will have a $44 million budget and cover 330.5 square miles.

Bruegman said Fresno County supervisors should consider a takeover of county fire service and have a more direct relationship with the department. A similar plan has been developed in Tulare County.

"We are not funding rural fire protection at the level that it needs to be funded," Bruegman said. "It's hard for the Board of Supervisors to send money over there, but I think that's a basic function of government."

County Supervisor Phil Larson said Fresno County's rural areas are the county's economic engine. Large swaths of Fresno County land are protected by the Williamson Act preserve, a program that allows land to be taxed at lower rates in order to preserve its agricultural usage. But that doesn't mean residents should receive a lower standard of service, Larson said.

The Tranquillity Chamber of Commerce has authored a resolution calling for county agencies to maintain or improve fire services in the town.

While there is a fire station in Tranquillity, the nearest paramedic crew comes from Mendota, about 20 minutes away, said Keith Eubanks, chamber president.

"The firefighters get you stabilized before the paramedics get here," Eubanks said. "We would be lost without those guys."

The Tranquillity fire station also was crucial to keeping fire from spreading to several classrooms at the high school during a fire a few years ago.

"They are our paramedics and our firefighters, and they go all the way to I-5. That's a 40-minute ride," he said. "When you need help, you need it now, not an hour from now."

The reporter can be reached at mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6166.