2008 COUNTY SUPERVISOR CANDIDATES FORUM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ABOUT CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT 1
FUNDING CHALLENGES FOR SOLANO COUNTY FIRE DISTRICTS 4
General Background 4
County Responsibility for Emergency Response & Fire Protection 4
Proposition 13 – Unintended Consequences 5
Proposition 172 – Expressed Intent of the Voters 5
Williamson Act – Expressed Intent of State Lawmakers 6
Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) 6
Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative–
Development Annexation and Revenue Sharing 7
Trend of Increasing Load of Unfunded Responsibilities 7
Paramedic Funding – Yet Another Funding Inequity 8
APPEAL TO THE CANDIDATES AND CITIZENS OF
THE GREEN VALLEY/ CORDELIA FIRE
DISTRICT 10
CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT’S ANNUAL BUDGET 11
Personnel Expense 11
Equipment Expense 12
Operations Expense 12
Budget Statement 13
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES 14
ABOUT CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT
The Cordelia Fire District (“CFD”) was organized as a volunteer fire district in 1925. Like most firefighting
organizations of the day, it was staffed by the residents of the community who willingly responded to the
first sign of a fire. Those firefighters had little training, no standardized protective gear, no dispatching
system, and were only equipped to respond to “fire” emergencies. People simply pitched in to do whatever
they could to help save lives and property. There were no laws creating hurdles for these traditional
volunteer firefighters.
As recently as thirty years ago, our community was mostly agricultural and rural. Most of our volunteer
firefighters were local men who lived and worked here in their community. Calls for service were a fraction
of today’s call volume. For example, some thirty-seven years ago Jeff Dittmer, one of the District’s Board
Members, became a volunteer firefighter at the ripe young age of fourteen. He recounts stories of
responding to fires with ten volunteers hanging onto the running boards of an old fire truck with little to no
protective equipment. The world has changed greatly over the last thirty years. As society has become
more complex, so have the demands upon the firefighters. The mission of the fire district has evolved
tremendously. Years ago there was no such thing as a paramedic. The fire district rarely responded to
medical emergencies and was neither trained nor equipped to handle them. Now 85% of CFD calls involve
emergency medical response by fully equipped paramedics. Years ago fire districts never even thought
about such things as hazardous materials and vehicle accident rescues. Today both are the subject of
extensive training and tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Years ago fire engines were
homemade or modified military surplus. Today they are complex apparatus costing hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Today we expect much of our Fire District beyond the services provided by the
traditional volunteer firefighters of yesteryear.
Besides the increasing demands for additional services resulting from community development, laws
defining and regulating firefighting agencies have become detailed and complex. Then, OSHA didn’t exist
to protect the safety and rights of the firefighters. The application of child protection laws just wasn’t an
issue. Now, laws governing safety, training, compensation and work conditions have to be abided. The
more complex demands of the job, engines and equipment demand expanded knowledge and skill
development. Then, there were no laws requiring certification of all firefighters – regardless of their status
as paid professionals or volunteers. There were no regulations defining stringent requirements for
certification. Now, training requirements have become so rigorous and time consuming, that it is extremely
difficult for a volunteer to entertain a full time job to support him or herself AND complete the training
requirements concurrently. This has become a practical limiting factor for volunteers. Historically most
volunteers were people who had other jobs and just wanted to help the community. Over time they gained
training and experience and became the District’s leadership. Now the District has very few traditional
volunteers. Today’s volunteer is typically a much younger student who volunteers for a year or two in
order to prepare for a career as a firefighter.
For many years the Cordelia area provided the main pool of volunteer firefighters. As it grew, however,
along with the new construction and rising property values, the nature of the community changed. In our
highly mobile society with frequent moves and commuter neighborhoods, many people no longer
demonstrate the same kind of identity with or investment in their community. This change in the character
of the community has also been a limiting factor in the resource pool of volunteer firefighters.
Cordelia Fire District maintained some level of paid staff for over forty years. For many years, there was
just one paid person whose primary function was staff mechanic. Over time in an attempt to ensure
coverage to meet the emergency demands of its growing population base, CFD evolved into a “combined”
fire district including a few paid positions along with the volunteers. For many years that involved a paid
staff from 8AM-5PM backed up by volunteers responding from their places of employment. Nighttime
coverage was provided entirely by volunteers responding from their homes. About seven years ago, it
became evident that the number of volunteers was dwindling. At one point all of the District’s volunteers
were employed OUTSIDE the area – except one. Even though they were on call, their ability to respond to
calls in a timely fashion was predictably unsatisfactory. Responding to this crisis, the Board of Directors
created the “Resident Firefighter” program. Young volunteers preparing for a firefighting career “reside”
in the station for 24 hour shifts. Initially, resident firefighters supplemented the traditional volunteers.
About five years ago, the CFD Board of Directors hired Fire Chief Jay Huyssoon. He implemented a
training program meeting all regulatory demands for firefighter certification – and the resident program
took off. Cordelia Fire District effectively expanded its prospective pool of volunteers by attracting people
from outside the area for the training program. Residents receive the training at no charge while
volunteering as members of our firefighting staff. This is a win-win solution both for the trainees and the
community. Trainees get the training and work experience they need to build a resume leading to full time
employment at other fire departments. In exchange the community gets a level of coverage far beyond
what it could otherwise afford. It is the reputation of our Fire Chief and the quality of Cordelia Fire District’s
program in the fire fighting community that has allowed us to more than double our staff to include a
permanent paid Fire Chief, 3 paid Captains plus about 50 volunteers. Today, we have very few traditional
volunteer/residents. The resident program has become the backbone of the District’s staff. Adequate
staffing with dedicated, trained volunteers was the first step toward restoring excellent emergency
response times – within minutes – within our district, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since we cannot
afford to pay them, these young people are motivated to stay, learn and demonstrate their skills for the
reward of certification. Over 170 have been hired by full time career fire departments. That record of
success is what sustains the program.
In the midst of the staffing crisis, the District experienced an unrelated financial crisis caused by two
simultaneous reversals of fortune beyond its control: 1) CFD lost about $170,000 in annual income which
the City of Fairfield had been paying CFD since it annexed parts of the Cordelia area. For many years
CFD protected the annexed areas under contract with the City of Fairfield until the area was built out
enough to justify a city fire station. As soon as a fire station was built, CFD lost the contract and the
funding; and, 2) CFD lost about $155,000 of annual funding when the County corrected a County/State
accounting error spanning the last 30 years that dated back to when land was annexed by Benicia and
Fairfield that was supposed to be, but never was, dropped from the CFD tax roll. The combined loss
amounted to about $325,000 – or about half of CFD’s regular operating budget. The perpetuation of
Cordelia Fire District was in serious doubt.
To meet the funding shortfall, the District Board developed a plan for a “Special Tax” which they took to
the people. The voters of Cordelia Fire District voted to tax themselves in order to provide adequate fire
protection. The alternative, if the measure had failed, would have been to eliminate all paid staff and
depend entirely on volunteers, all of which at that time commuted to jobs outside of the area during the
day. The result would have been frequent emergencies to which there was no response. That special fire
protection tax costs Cordelia Fire District homeowners about $300 per year. This special tax is scaled to
increase periodically as directed by the Board but no more frequently than once per year according to the
CPI cost of living index or 2% whichever is less. While the Board is very grateful that the measure passed,
it maintains the position that its taxpayers should not have to pay an extra assessment in order to receive
a basic service that should be one of the first services paid for out of their property taxes. Nonetheless,
through much hard work on the part of the Fire Chief, the District’s Budget Committee and the Board at
large, after three years of some seriously hard times, Cordelia Fire District’s daily operations have tilted
into the black.
As the job of preserving lives and property has become a demanding vocation for a select few in our
modern society, the Cordelia Fire District still needs citizen volunteers. Today, the District needs it citizens
to engage, become informed and mobilize its political will, clout and methods to help bring about necessary
change in the core structure of funding upon which Cordelia Fire District depends. Cordelia Fire District
needs you! Contact your local and state elected representatives. Voice your concerns. In the coming
years the county’s current dysfunctional system of fire protection funding may face significant changes.
Stay informed and involved.
FUNDING CHALLENGES FOR SOLANO COUNTY FIRE DISTRICTS
GENERAL BACKGROUND
In short, Solano County’s system of fire protection via special districts is dysfunctional. The system is
dangerously disjointed and repeatedly deprives the districts of the financial resources necessary to fulfill
their missions. Solano County is served by a collection of agencies: city fire departments, fire protection
districts, water districts, county service agencies, volunteer agencies, state and federal agencies.
Unincorporated Solano County has seven “special” fire districts: Cordelia, Suisun, Montezuma, Dixon,
Ryer Island, Vacaville and East Vallejo. The complexity of the fragmented structure of the system yields
uneven funding, un-cohesive command leadership, communications, training, strategic planning and
development, and undermines the financial clout for modernizing equipment throughout the agencies.
Solano County’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the agency responsible for monitoring the
organization and efficiency of local government agencies has been studying the country’s fire districts.
Upon completion of those studies it is expected to make recommendations for improvement. Implementing
those recommendations will require the support of the Board of Supervisors. Funding of Solano County’s
fire protection systems is the most significant challenge to its fire districts today. Funding will also be the
biggest hurdle for any future plan for improvement in Solano County’s fire protection and emergency
services. What follows are some basic facts that outline the financial challenges with which Solano County’
s fire districts are contending.
Cordelia Fire District, like all of the county’s fire districts, is a “California Special District” which is an
independent governmental agency that is neither part of the county nor city governments. The District
controls its own operations under its own budget according to the leadership of its independently elected
fire district board members and its fire chief. Funding for the fire districts is almost entirely dependent
upon an arbitrary apportionment of property taxes established over 30 years ago. Unlike the fire districts
of the unincorporated areas of the county, the city fire “departments” provide the same services as do fire
districts, but are General Fund obligations of the cities which are funded by a wide variety of revenue
sources. Like the cities, Solano County has its own General Fund, which is also comprised of revenue
from generally the same wide variety of sources. However, Solano County, unlike the cities, refuses to
make any of that revenue available for fire protection and emergency services.
COUNTY RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE & FIRE PROTECTION
During the Cordelia Fire District’s financial crisis a few years ago, Solano County Supervisors made it very
clear that their position was that the County had no legal obligation for or intent to help with fire protection.
While technically true, that is misleading. The County provides many services that are not legally
mandated. These services range from such things as libraries, road maintenance and parks. The county
has also claimed that city taxpayers should not have to subsidize services in county areas, also a
misleading claim. For those taxpayers in the unincorporated areas, the County IS their municipal
government. A much higher proportion of unincorporated property taxes goes to County government than
does that of city taxpayers. The unincorporated area taxpayers rightfully should expect more municipal
services from county government than city taxpayers. The County collects funds from the same sources
that cities use to provide fire protection, but the County has refused to make any of these funds available
to the fire districts.
PROPOSITION 13
When Proposition 13 passed approximately thirty years ago, it was a much simpler world. The fire districts
were almost completely volunteer and had minimal budgets. The problem the fire districts have is not Prop
13 itself, but rather the political response and implementation in its immediate aftermath. When property
taxes were drastically reduced by Proposition 13, it was necessary to decide how to distribute the
remaining tax revenue. Instead of distributing the reduced property tax revenue so as to most benefit the
public, it was distributed on a proportional basis based upon the pre-Prop 13 distribution. No regard was
given to the importance of the mission funded or the availability of other sources of revenue. Critical
public safety functions were cut equally with non-essential services. Enterprise districts (those which have
additional sources of revenue from the sale of products or services such as water districts) for whom
property tax revenue was not as critical received the same proportional share that non-enterprise districts
(fire districts) received. That proportionate distribution of property tax revenue was based upon fully
volunteer organizations using World War II surplus equipment. The distribution was set in stone and has
remained for the past thirty years. Other fire districts in the state that had fully paid staff and bigger
budgets in the 1970’s, today receive much higher proportions of their county’s property tax revenue simply
because they had bigger budgets thirty years ago – without regard to growth patterns realized over that
span of time. As service demands and costs increased over the years, the local fire districts have had no
way to increase their share of property taxes to pay for the increased costs. They are forced to meet the
demands of 2008 with a funding system of the 1960’s and 70’s.
PROPOSITION 172 – And The Need For Accountable Distribution of Public Funds According to Expressed
Intent of the Voters
Proposition 172 passed in the wake of Proposition 13 to help fund public safety agencies affected by the
implementation of Prop 13. Revenue from the State is distributed through the counties. Featured
prominently in the campaign to pass Prop 172 was fire protection. The Solano County Supervisors’
position, again, has been that it has no responsibility for fire protection and so has chosen to direct all of
its Prop 172 revenue to the District Attorney’s Office (on top of the funds it already receives from the
County’s General Fund) which, then over time has replaced general fund revenue. This maneuver
effectively builds the county’s coffer while masking accountability for the allocation of these specific funds.
Given the content of the campaign to pass Proposition 172, it is reasonable to assume that it was the
intent of the voters to help fund fire protection. However, the fire districts have received no benefit from
the passage of Proposition 172 in Solano County.
WILLIAMSON ACT – And The Need For Proper Distribution of Public Funds According to Expressed Intent
of State Lawmakers
The Williamson Act is a state program that helps keep farmland in agriculture. Agriculture still represents
the single largest source of revenue for Solano County so it follows that the county benefits from this
program. Property owners contract with the State to keep their property undeveloped in exchange for
favorable property tax treatment. From a fire district perspective, which is primarily dependent upon
property tax revenue for its funding, that is an acceptable program because open cropland generally does
not generate a high service demand. One Williamson Act problem exists for the fire districts however. As
part of the program, the State partially reimburses counties for the lost tax revenue (subvention). Common
sense says that this revenue should be distributed to all of the agencies affected, but Solano County
keeps all of the subvention revenue in their General Fund. This problem of improper distribution of this
revenue received from the State is a County issue. Correction of this problem requires action by the
County Board of Supervisors. This issue has been posed to the County Board of Supervisors by the
Board for Cordelia Fire District, but remains without resolution to date.
EDUCATIONAL REVENUE AUGMENTATION FUND (ERAF)
Another of the post Proposition 13 funding issues is ERAF. ERAF was established as a means of shifting
a portion of property tax revenue to education. Public agencies that receive property tax revenue have a
percentage taken way and given to the state to redistribute to school districts around the state. The
county fire districts are among the agencies affected by the ERAF program. The percentage taken away
from each fire district differs and was determined years ago by a complicated formula that used each fire
district’s 1989 revenue as a baseline. It appears that the percentage for the Cordelia Fire District was
calculated incorrectly. For many years the City of Fairfield paid CFD to protect the city areas around
Cordelia. When there was enough development to justify a fire station, the city built and staffed its own
station and cancelled the contract with CFD. The ERAF calculation using the1989 baseline included the
payment from the city. When the city cancelled the contract in 1994 the payments stopped, but the ERAF
calculation continued (compounding each year) as though that payment was a permanent revenue
source. This has gone on for 14 years. CFD’s ERAF assessment is now $98,000 per year (compounding
at 7% annually), by far the highest in the county. The district leadership has been trying to resolve this
issue since it was discovered in 2003. Various county officials and the state controller have looked at this
issue and agree that the calculation and assessment is incorrect. Unfortunately, like the post Prop 13
distribution of property taxes, the ERAF percentage was set in stone years ago and cannot be changed
except through state legislative action. The effort has been stalled since December 2006 in the state’s
legal department. As of December 2007, the County Auditor has advised we now pursue aggressive
legislative action. Cordelia Fire District now needs political/legislative help if it is to succeed in
accomplishing a fair and reasonable solution to its ERAF problem.
SOLANO COUNTY ORDERLY GROWTH INITIATIVE
The Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative has been a financial challenge to the fire districts. First
passed by the voters in 1984 and updated in 1994, the initiative directs development into the cities,
allowing little growth to occur in the county. Unfortunately the unintended consequences of the measure
have been devastating to the fire districts. Solano County has been the fastest growing county in
California in recent years. Almost all growth is directed into the cities. Prior to development in the
unincorporated areas, parcels are typically annexed into a city and detached from a fire district. Very little
new development then occurs in what remains as the unincorporated areas, depriving the fire districts of
new sources of revenue that is, instead, enjoyed by the cities. While the loss of revenue from each
individual parcel may not be significant, cumulatively over time the result has been devastating. The
reduction of service demands caused by the detachment of vacant parcels is small, yet the fire districts’
costs do not decrease. The one type of growth that has increased dramatically in the fire districts is rural
residential (high service demands, low revenue). Commercial and industrial (low service demands, high
revenue) is almost entirely prohibited in the fire districts and is channeled into the neighboring cities
instead.
In the wake of the original version of the Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative, an agreement was
negotiated between the county and the cities to share property tax revenue from properties that were
annexed into the cities and subsequently developed. The intent of this agreement was to compensate the
county government for tax revenue it lost due to annexation and would have received if the development
had occurred without annexation. This agreement has been updated over the years, but remains in force
today. Under the agreement the county receives a share of property tax revenue from properties annexed
since 1978. In the original documents, the Fairfield City Council resolution approving the agreement
makes reference to the county distribution of revenue it receives to “special districts” (among others).
That reference is missing from the county’s version of the resolution. The reasons why the county should
receive a share of those property taxes apply equally to the fire districts. Cordelia Fire District believes
that the affected fire districts should receive a fair share of that revenue from Solano County in turn.
TREND OF INCREASING LOAD OF UNFUNDED RESPONSIBILITIES
A number of properties exist in the county areas that place significant service demands on the fire districts,
yet they pay no taxes. These are typically owned by other government agencies. A good example of such
unfunded responsibilities is Solano College. It generates approximately 10% of the Cordelia Fire District’s
call volume, yet pays nothing. The freeways and Rockville Hills Park are also unfunded responsibilities of
the Cordelia Fire District. The recent opening of Lynch Canyon as a “regional park” has added yet one
more unfunded responsibility to respond to the fire, medical and rescue emergencies for this District. A
park in Lynch Canyon may be a very nice addition to the community; however, it creates an adverse
impact on the Cordelia Fire District that should be funded.
Opening a regional park in Lynch Canyon drastically changes the usage from the historical agricultural
grazing land, closed to the public, to a recreational property open to the general public. Unlike the 633-
acre Rockville Hills Park which is within 1.5 miles from one of the District’s stations, in a well-traveled area
with easily accessible all weather fire trails for fire district vehicles, the 1040-acre Lynch Canyon Regional
Park’s sole entrance is about 7 or 10 miles away from the two District stations respectively, and is only
accessible to the Cordelia Fire District via Highway 80 with response times subject to the traffic delays
common to that stretch of highway. In addition, Lynch Canyon Regional Park does not now have a fire trail
infrastructure. The lack of access coupled with the steep terrain of the park will make fighting fires and
responding to medical emergencies difficult and labor intensive.
Besides the burden of difficulty in merely accessing emergencies at Lynch Canyon Regional Park, plans
for Lynch Canyon include expanded recreational activities beyond the hiking and bicycling offered at
Rockville Hills Park such as horseback riding and hang gliding for a more “regional” customer base.
Accordingly, it is expected that Lynch Canyon Regional Park will generate much more activity and
consequently more emergencies than the variety of injuries, allergic reactions to bee stings, heat
exhaustion, heart attacks, strokes, diabetic emergencies, bicycle accidents, lost hikers and bicyclists and
vegetation fires normally experienced at Rockville Hills Park.
As a Williamson Act parcel owned by Solano Land Trust, the Lynch Canyon property provides about $100
annual revenue to Cordelia Fire District. Historically, as unimproved grazing land, closed to the public,
service demands were minimal so revenue was not an issue. As a regional park, now open to the public,
service demands will increase dramatically along with the costs for the Fire District. Without adequate
county funding, district taxpayers will be forced to subsidize the county’s regional park. The parks system
should pay its fair share of the cost of providing service.
The Board for the Cordelia Fire District has informed the Board of Supervisors that the fire district is
already spread very thinly. The Supervisors have been reminded that the residents of the Cordelia Fire
District have already passed one Special Tax costing homeowners approximately $300 per year – on top
of their property taxes paid – to fund the District’s operational budget before the imposition of service to
the Lynch Canyon Regional Park. The residents of Cordelia Fire District should not be required to spend
any of these funds to subsidize service to a regional park that will be used by a regional general public.
Accordingly, the Board for the Cordelia Fire District has repeatedly expressed to the County Board of
Supervisors its desire to help make the opening of Lynch Canyon Regional Park work for the County as
long as the county paid their fair share of fire district expenses. However, the Board of Supervisors
approved the park and agreed to spend about $250,000 per year to open the park – omitting any
consideration of fire district funding.
PARAMEDIC FUNDING – Yet Another Funding Inequity
Under the County Ambulance Contract, ambulance companies pay money to the County. Solano County,
in turn, subsidizes city paramedic programs at a rate of $45,000 per station per year; but, county fire
districts do not receive any share of those funds even though, in the case of Cordelia Fire District, it has
provided paramedic services since before 1999. Since over 85% of Cordelia Fire District’s calls involve
emergency medical services, Cordelia Fire District has been left to its own devices to figure out how to
cover the costs of keeping equipment maintained and updated as needed, replacing medical supplies, and
keeping its medication supply current and in adequate quantities. It is the position of the Board for the
Cordelia Fire District that its paramedic program is just as viable and necessary to the population it
services as are those of the city fire departments. Cordelia Fire District should share in the benefits of this
program subsidy as well.
APPEAL TO THE CANDIDATES AND CITIZENS OF THE GREEN VALLEY/CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT
It is critically important to the viability of the Solano County fire districts generally, and Cordelia Fire District
specifically, to rectify the pattern of funding inequities in order to ensure dependable fire, rescue and
paramedic services to all county residents. In short, this fire district has struggled and succeeded in
implementing creative solutions to keep the doors open and provide quality services and response times.
But our organizational structure and expenses are both fixed and barebones. Any loss of revenue will
equate to loss in service.
Cordelia Fire District has no position, for or against, any development projects within its district boundaries
as long as the County Supervisors adopt and maintain policies that mitigate the unintended adverse
effects Cordelia Fire District has experienced as a result of a series of community growing pains, policy
decisions and ballot measures that have occurred over the last several decades.
Each problem articulated herein represents a solvable problem, but will take the determination and
commitment from the Board of Supervisors to make it happen.
Make your voice heard. Be sure you let the candidates know what is the will of the people!
CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT’S ANNUAL BUDGET
Since no discussion regarding “funding” ought to be decided without review of the related expenses, the
Board for Cordelia Fire District offers the following budget information for your consideration.
Cordelia Fire District currently has two fire stations, one of which is leased from the Fairfield/Suisun Unified
School District on a month-to-month basis, that are well located for servicing the territory within its current
boundaries – except for the new Lynch Canyon Regional Park (addressed above as a separate funding
issue). Each fire station provides twenty-four hour coverage with a staff of three offering the ability to
perform paramedic services amongst them. Each day there is one full time firefighter on duty, sometimes
two. All remaining staffing is with volunteer/residents.
PERSONNEL EXPENSE
Personnel expenses, including all benefits, represent $389,486 (56%) of the District’s total budget of
$685,396. (For a fully paid fire department, personnel costs are typically 90% of the budget.)
Cordelia Fire District budgets for the following paid positions:
- Fire Chief at $50,000 annually
- 3 Paid Full Time Firefighters at $106,000 annually collectively
- Costs of Employment (such as mandatory workman’s compensation and PERS program
requirements) at $193,500 collectively
(NOTE: Assistant Fire Chief(s) receive no pay)
In addition to those specific positions listed above, the district maintains an average pool of 45-50 resident
firefighters (young volunteers preparing for a firefighting career who “reside” in the station for 24 hour
shifts). They are drawn from all over the San Francisco Bay Area by offering a certified training program
for free. Resident firefighters receive a meager stipend of $20.00 per 24-hour shift for a total cost of
$40,000 annually for the entire program. They typically stay and serve the district until their training is
completed and/or they land a paying position as professional firefighters for departments elsewhere.
Besides the firefighting staff, the administration of the fire district is also dependent upon volunteer
services. Patty Huyssoon (the Chief’s wife) makes more than a full time commitment volunteering her
services to Cordelia Fire District as Office Manager – without compensation. She provides all the
accounting, general administrative, human resources, and reception work for the Fire Chief, the Board, the
Firefighters’ Association, and the fire district at large.
The pay rates are seriously deficient given the responsibilities and services received. As volunteers have
become more sparsely available in these modern times, attracting qualified people to provide the myriad
services necessary to ensure a dependable succession of competent command and control of the district’s
operations is an issue about which the leadership of Cordelia Fire District is ever mindful. To replace any
of these services would require considerable expense. Yet there is no extra money in the budget available
to even consider offering competitive compensation.
EQUIPMENT EXPENSE
Besides the personnel costs to the district, equipment costs represent a significant expense to the budget.
Annual equipment maintenance and repair expenses have skyrocketed in recent years. So far this year
costs have exceeded $50,000 and the fiscal year still has three months to go. This is because (with the
exception of the three new defibrillators, funded through generous local citizen’s donations last year)
almost all equipment owned by Cordelia Fire District is old and rapidly becoming excessively costly and
difficult to maintain and repair. It is getting ever harder to find parts. The district recognizes the
obsolescence of its aging equipment and is taking action to plan and budget replacements. This is
especially advisable in a fire district because loss of life is the risk we run with inoperability of our
equipment. The district is proceeding with the replacement of some of the less costly equipment, yet there
is inadequate money in the current budget and anticipated future revenue to even come close to replacing
the most essential (and costly) equipment.
OPERATIONS EXPENSE
The lion’s share of the remaining budget of about $186,000 (28%) gets spent on the operating costs
required for keeping two fire stations functional twenty-four hours per day such as electricity, water,
insurance, supplies, uniform cleaning, housekeeping, etc.
CORDELIA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
BUDGET 2007-2008
INCOME
PROPERTY TAXES 234,300
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT 334,500
MISC. TAXES 18,000 586,800
INTEREST 7,500
HALL RENTAL 32,000 39,500
MISC. INCOME 6,200 6,200
DEVELOPER FEE 40,900
PLAN CHECK FEE 7,000
COST RECOVERY 5,000 52,900
TOTAL INCOME 685,400
EXPENSES
PAID STAFF WAGES 156,000
RESIDENT FIREFIGHTERS 40,000
COSTS OF EMPLOYMENT 193,500 389,500
OPERATIONS 205,700 205,700
EQUIPMENT LEASE 40,600 40,600
BUILDINGS 10,000 10,000
RESERVES 39,600 39,600
TOTAL EXPENSES 685,400
NOTE: This is a simplified statement for public discussion. Complete financial records are available for
inspection at the Cordelia Fire Station.
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES
1. Solano County officials have stated that the county has no legal responsibility for fire protection. Given
the fact that the county IS our municipal government and the county government has a long pattern of
funding all kinds of programs that it does not legally have to (like road maintenance and parks), do you
believe Solano County government has any moral responsibility for fire protection in the unincorporated
areas?
2. How would you rank the following programs in the order of county funding priority?
- Law enforcement
- Education
- Health care
- Parks
- Youth programs
- Water
- Sewer
- Roads/transportation
- Fire/rescue/emergency medical services
3. Given the explosive growth Solano County has experienced over the last 30 years and the increases in
the costs of running a fire district since the passage of Proposition 13, how and when would you
recommend the county might address the inadequacy of the post Prop 13 allocation of funds available to
the fire districts?
4. Even though it took major fire damage before taking action, San Diego County has approved $8.5
million a year from its General Fund over the last few years to boost fire services while their county
leadership comes to terms with whether and how to merge its fire districts in the unincorporated areas and
improve overall county disaster response capabilities. Would you support allocating money from the
General Fund to support the fire districts in the unincorporated areas as a priority – specifically Cordelia
Fire District – to bridge the gap between now and such time that the county decides to address a cohesive
and comprehensive plan for the provision of county wide fire, emergency medical, rescue and disaster
planning?
5. The burden of costs of servicing the Lynch Canyon Regional Park currently falls squarely on the
shoulders of the Cordelia Fire District taxpayers. Do you believe Cordelia Fire District ought to receive
funding from Solano County for the performance of fire, rescue and emergency medical services to
regional use facilities such as Lynch Canyon Regional Park?
If “yes”, please explain your solution?
If “no”, please explain your rationale?
6. Three issues discussed in the background material funnel revenue into the county’s General Fund.
Proposition 172 was passed via campaign portrayal of revenue going to help all public safety, including fire
protection. Williamson Act subventions replace property tax revenue that the county, the fire districts (and
others) would have received in the absence of the Williamson Act. The property tax revenue sharing
agreement between the county and the cities replaces tax revenue that the county, the fire districts (and
others) would have received in the absence of the Orderly Growth Initiative. All revenue from these three
sources is funneled into the county General Fund. The fire districts receive nothing. Please explain why
this is good governmental policy or explain what you would do to correct this situation.
7. As part of the “County Ambulance Contract” program that is in place, city fire departments providing
paramedic services are paid $45,000 per station per year by the contract holder. Would you be in favor of
expanding the program to provide equal treatment to the fire districts in the unincorporated areas – or at
least Cordelia Fire District – that provide paramedic services as well?
If “yes”, please explain your solution?
If “no”, please explain your rationale?
8. What will you do as a Supervisor to address the inequity of the Cordelia Fire District’s ERAF
assessment?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ABOUT CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT 1
FUNDING CHALLENGES FOR SOLANO COUNTY FIRE DISTRICTS 4
General Background 4
County Responsibility for Emergency Response & Fire Protection 4
Proposition 13 – Unintended Consequences 5
Proposition 172 – Expressed Intent of the Voters 5
Williamson Act – Expressed Intent of State Lawmakers 6
Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) 6
Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative–
Development Annexation and Revenue Sharing 7
Trend of Increasing Load of Unfunded Responsibilities 7
Paramedic Funding – Yet Another Funding Inequity 8
APPEAL TO THE CANDIDATES AND CITIZENS OF
THE GREEN VALLEY/ CORDELIA FIRE
DISTRICT 10
CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT’S ANNUAL BUDGET 11
Personnel Expense 11
Equipment Expense 12
Operations Expense 12
Budget Statement 13
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES 14
ABOUT CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT
The Cordelia Fire District (“CFD”) was organized as a volunteer fire district in 1925. Like most firefighting
organizations of the day, it was staffed by the residents of the community who willingly responded to the
first sign of a fire. Those firefighters had little training, no standardized protective gear, no dispatching
system, and were only equipped to respond to “fire” emergencies. People simply pitched in to do whatever
they could to help save lives and property. There were no laws creating hurdles for these traditional
volunteer firefighters.
As recently as thirty years ago, our community was mostly agricultural and rural. Most of our volunteer
firefighters were local men who lived and worked here in their community. Calls for service were a fraction
of today’s call volume. For example, some thirty-seven years ago Jeff Dittmer, one of the District’s Board
Members, became a volunteer firefighter at the ripe young age of fourteen. He recounts stories of
responding to fires with ten volunteers hanging onto the running boards of an old fire truck with little to no
protective equipment. The world has changed greatly over the last thirty years. As society has become
more complex, so have the demands upon the firefighters. The mission of the fire district has evolved
tremendously. Years ago there was no such thing as a paramedic. The fire district rarely responded to
medical emergencies and was neither trained nor equipped to handle them. Now 85% of CFD calls involve
emergency medical response by fully equipped paramedics. Years ago fire districts never even thought
about such things as hazardous materials and vehicle accident rescues. Today both are the subject of
extensive training and tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Years ago fire engines were
homemade or modified military surplus. Today they are complex apparatus costing hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Today we expect much of our Fire District beyond the services provided by the
traditional volunteer firefighters of yesteryear.
Besides the increasing demands for additional services resulting from community development, laws
defining and regulating firefighting agencies have become detailed and complex. Then, OSHA didn’t exist
to protect the safety and rights of the firefighters. The application of child protection laws just wasn’t an
issue. Now, laws governing safety, training, compensation and work conditions have to be abided. The
more complex demands of the job, engines and equipment demand expanded knowledge and skill
development. Then, there were no laws requiring certification of all firefighters – regardless of their status
as paid professionals or volunteers. There were no regulations defining stringent requirements for
certification. Now, training requirements have become so rigorous and time consuming, that it is extremely
difficult for a volunteer to entertain a full time job to support him or herself AND complete the training
requirements concurrently. This has become a practical limiting factor for volunteers. Historically most
volunteers were people who had other jobs and just wanted to help the community. Over time they gained
training and experience and became the District’s leadership. Now the District has very few traditional
volunteers. Today’s volunteer is typically a much younger student who volunteers for a year or two in
order to prepare for a career as a firefighter.
For many years the Cordelia area provided the main pool of volunteer firefighters. As it grew, however,
along with the new construction and rising property values, the nature of the community changed. In our
highly mobile society with frequent moves and commuter neighborhoods, many people no longer
demonstrate the same kind of identity with or investment in their community. This change in the character
of the community has also been a limiting factor in the resource pool of volunteer firefighters.
Cordelia Fire District maintained some level of paid staff for over forty years. For many years, there was
just one paid person whose primary function was staff mechanic. Over time in an attempt to ensure
coverage to meet the emergency demands of its growing population base, CFD evolved into a “combined”
fire district including a few paid positions along with the volunteers. For many years that involved a paid
staff from 8AM-5PM backed up by volunteers responding from their places of employment. Nighttime
coverage was provided entirely by volunteers responding from their homes. About seven years ago, it
became evident that the number of volunteers was dwindling. At one point all of the District’s volunteers
were employed OUTSIDE the area – except one. Even though they were on call, their ability to respond to
calls in a timely fashion was predictably unsatisfactory. Responding to this crisis, the Board of Directors
created the “Resident Firefighter” program. Young volunteers preparing for a firefighting career “reside”
in the station for 24 hour shifts. Initially, resident firefighters supplemented the traditional volunteers.
About five years ago, the CFD Board of Directors hired Fire Chief Jay Huyssoon. He implemented a
training program meeting all regulatory demands for firefighter certification – and the resident program
took off. Cordelia Fire District effectively expanded its prospective pool of volunteers by attracting people
from outside the area for the training program. Residents receive the training at no charge while
volunteering as members of our firefighting staff. This is a win-win solution both for the trainees and the
community. Trainees get the training and work experience they need to build a resume leading to full time
employment at other fire departments. In exchange the community gets a level of coverage far beyond
what it could otherwise afford. It is the reputation of our Fire Chief and the quality of Cordelia Fire District’s
program in the fire fighting community that has allowed us to more than double our staff to include a
permanent paid Fire Chief, 3 paid Captains plus about 50 volunteers. Today, we have very few traditional
volunteer/residents. The resident program has become the backbone of the District’s staff. Adequate
staffing with dedicated, trained volunteers was the first step toward restoring excellent emergency
response times – within minutes – within our district, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since we cannot
afford to pay them, these young people are motivated to stay, learn and demonstrate their skills for the
reward of certification. Over 170 have been hired by full time career fire departments. That record of
success is what sustains the program.
In the midst of the staffing crisis, the District experienced an unrelated financial crisis caused by two
simultaneous reversals of fortune beyond its control: 1) CFD lost about $170,000 in annual income which
the City of Fairfield had been paying CFD since it annexed parts of the Cordelia area. For many years
CFD protected the annexed areas under contract with the City of Fairfield until the area was built out
enough to justify a city fire station. As soon as a fire station was built, CFD lost the contract and the
funding; and, 2) CFD lost about $155,000 of annual funding when the County corrected a County/State
accounting error spanning the last 30 years that dated back to when land was annexed by Benicia and
Fairfield that was supposed to be, but never was, dropped from the CFD tax roll. The combined loss
amounted to about $325,000 – or about half of CFD’s regular operating budget. The perpetuation of
Cordelia Fire District was in serious doubt.
To meet the funding shortfall, the District Board developed a plan for a “Special Tax” which they took to
the people. The voters of Cordelia Fire District voted to tax themselves in order to provide adequate fire
protection. The alternative, if the measure had failed, would have been to eliminate all paid staff and
depend entirely on volunteers, all of which at that time commuted to jobs outside of the area during the
day. The result would have been frequent emergencies to which there was no response. That special fire
protection tax costs Cordelia Fire District homeowners about $300 per year. This special tax is scaled to
increase periodically as directed by the Board but no more frequently than once per year according to the
CPI cost of living index or 2% whichever is less. While the Board is very grateful that the measure passed,
it maintains the position that its taxpayers should not have to pay an extra assessment in order to receive
a basic service that should be one of the first services paid for out of their property taxes. Nonetheless,
through much hard work on the part of the Fire Chief, the District’s Budget Committee and the Board at
large, after three years of some seriously hard times, Cordelia Fire District’s daily operations have tilted
into the black.
As the job of preserving lives and property has become a demanding vocation for a select few in our
modern society, the Cordelia Fire District still needs citizen volunteers. Today, the District needs it citizens
to engage, become informed and mobilize its political will, clout and methods to help bring about necessary
change in the core structure of funding upon which Cordelia Fire District depends. Cordelia Fire District
needs you! Contact your local and state elected representatives. Voice your concerns. In the coming
years the county’s current dysfunctional system of fire protection funding may face significant changes.
Stay informed and involved.
FUNDING CHALLENGES FOR SOLANO COUNTY FIRE DISTRICTS
GENERAL BACKGROUND
In short, Solano County’s system of fire protection via special districts is dysfunctional. The system is
dangerously disjointed and repeatedly deprives the districts of the financial resources necessary to fulfill
their missions. Solano County is served by a collection of agencies: city fire departments, fire protection
districts, water districts, county service agencies, volunteer agencies, state and federal agencies.
Unincorporated Solano County has seven “special” fire districts: Cordelia, Suisun, Montezuma, Dixon,
Ryer Island, Vacaville and East Vallejo. The complexity of the fragmented structure of the system yields
uneven funding, un-cohesive command leadership, communications, training, strategic planning and
development, and undermines the financial clout for modernizing equipment throughout the agencies.
Solano County’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the agency responsible for monitoring the
organization and efficiency of local government agencies has been studying the country’s fire districts.
Upon completion of those studies it is expected to make recommendations for improvement. Implementing
those recommendations will require the support of the Board of Supervisors. Funding of Solano County’s
fire protection systems is the most significant challenge to its fire districts today. Funding will also be the
biggest hurdle for any future plan for improvement in Solano County’s fire protection and emergency
services. What follows are some basic facts that outline the financial challenges with which Solano County’
s fire districts are contending.
Cordelia Fire District, like all of the county’s fire districts, is a “California Special District” which is an
independent governmental agency that is neither part of the county nor city governments. The District
controls its own operations under its own budget according to the leadership of its independently elected
fire district board members and its fire chief. Funding for the fire districts is almost entirely dependent
upon an arbitrary apportionment of property taxes established over 30 years ago. Unlike the fire districts
of the unincorporated areas of the county, the city fire “departments” provide the same services as do fire
districts, but are General Fund obligations of the cities which are funded by a wide variety of revenue
sources. Like the cities, Solano County has its own General Fund, which is also comprised of revenue
from generally the same wide variety of sources. However, Solano County, unlike the cities, refuses to
make any of that revenue available for fire protection and emergency services.
COUNTY RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE & FIRE PROTECTION
During the Cordelia Fire District’s financial crisis a few years ago, Solano County Supervisors made it very
clear that their position was that the County had no legal obligation for or intent to help with fire protection.
While technically true, that is misleading. The County provides many services that are not legally
mandated. These services range from such things as libraries, road maintenance and parks. The county
has also claimed that city taxpayers should not have to subsidize services in county areas, also a
misleading claim. For those taxpayers in the unincorporated areas, the County IS their municipal
government. A much higher proportion of unincorporated property taxes goes to County government than
does that of city taxpayers. The unincorporated area taxpayers rightfully should expect more municipal
services from county government than city taxpayers. The County collects funds from the same sources
that cities use to provide fire protection, but the County has refused to make any of these funds available
to the fire districts.
PROPOSITION 13
When Proposition 13 passed approximately thirty years ago, it was a much simpler world. The fire districts
were almost completely volunteer and had minimal budgets. The problem the fire districts have is not Prop
13 itself, but rather the political response and implementation in its immediate aftermath. When property
taxes were drastically reduced by Proposition 13, it was necessary to decide how to distribute the
remaining tax revenue. Instead of distributing the reduced property tax revenue so as to most benefit the
public, it was distributed on a proportional basis based upon the pre-Prop 13 distribution. No regard was
given to the importance of the mission funded or the availability of other sources of revenue. Critical
public safety functions were cut equally with non-essential services. Enterprise districts (those which have
additional sources of revenue from the sale of products or services such as water districts) for whom
property tax revenue was not as critical received the same proportional share that non-enterprise districts
(fire districts) received. That proportionate distribution of property tax revenue was based upon fully
volunteer organizations using World War II surplus equipment. The distribution was set in stone and has
remained for the past thirty years. Other fire districts in the state that had fully paid staff and bigger
budgets in the 1970’s, today receive much higher proportions of their county’s property tax revenue simply
because they had bigger budgets thirty years ago – without regard to growth patterns realized over that
span of time. As service demands and costs increased over the years, the local fire districts have had no
way to increase their share of property taxes to pay for the increased costs. They are forced to meet the
demands of 2008 with a funding system of the 1960’s and 70’s.
PROPOSITION 172 – And The Need For Accountable Distribution of Public Funds According to Expressed
Intent of the Voters
Proposition 172 passed in the wake of Proposition 13 to help fund public safety agencies affected by the
implementation of Prop 13. Revenue from the State is distributed through the counties. Featured
prominently in the campaign to pass Prop 172 was fire protection. The Solano County Supervisors’
position, again, has been that it has no responsibility for fire protection and so has chosen to direct all of
its Prop 172 revenue to the District Attorney’s Office (on top of the funds it already receives from the
County’s General Fund) which, then over time has replaced general fund revenue. This maneuver
effectively builds the county’s coffer while masking accountability for the allocation of these specific funds.
Given the content of the campaign to pass Proposition 172, it is reasonable to assume that it was the
intent of the voters to help fund fire protection. However, the fire districts have received no benefit from
the passage of Proposition 172 in Solano County.
WILLIAMSON ACT – And The Need For Proper Distribution of Public Funds According to Expressed Intent
of State Lawmakers
The Williamson Act is a state program that helps keep farmland in agriculture. Agriculture still represents
the single largest source of revenue for Solano County so it follows that the county benefits from this
program. Property owners contract with the State to keep their property undeveloped in exchange for
favorable property tax treatment. From a fire district perspective, which is primarily dependent upon
property tax revenue for its funding, that is an acceptable program because open cropland generally does
not generate a high service demand. One Williamson Act problem exists for the fire districts however. As
part of the program, the State partially reimburses counties for the lost tax revenue (subvention). Common
sense says that this revenue should be distributed to all of the agencies affected, but Solano County
keeps all of the subvention revenue in their General Fund. This problem of improper distribution of this
revenue received from the State is a County issue. Correction of this problem requires action by the
County Board of Supervisors. This issue has been posed to the County Board of Supervisors by the
Board for Cordelia Fire District, but remains without resolution to date.
EDUCATIONAL REVENUE AUGMENTATION FUND (ERAF)
Another of the post Proposition 13 funding issues is ERAF. ERAF was established as a means of shifting
a portion of property tax revenue to education. Public agencies that receive property tax revenue have a
percentage taken way and given to the state to redistribute to school districts around the state. The
county fire districts are among the agencies affected by the ERAF program. The percentage taken away
from each fire district differs and was determined years ago by a complicated formula that used each fire
district’s 1989 revenue as a baseline. It appears that the percentage for the Cordelia Fire District was
calculated incorrectly. For many years the City of Fairfield paid CFD to protect the city areas around
Cordelia. When there was enough development to justify a fire station, the city built and staffed its own
station and cancelled the contract with CFD. The ERAF calculation using the1989 baseline included the
payment from the city. When the city cancelled the contract in 1994 the payments stopped, but the ERAF
calculation continued (compounding each year) as though that payment was a permanent revenue
source. This has gone on for 14 years. CFD’s ERAF assessment is now $98,000 per year (compounding
at 7% annually), by far the highest in the county. The district leadership has been trying to resolve this
issue since it was discovered in 2003. Various county officials and the state controller have looked at this
issue and agree that the calculation and assessment is incorrect. Unfortunately, like the post Prop 13
distribution of property taxes, the ERAF percentage was set in stone years ago and cannot be changed
except through state legislative action. The effort has been stalled since December 2006 in the state’s
legal department. As of December 2007, the County Auditor has advised we now pursue aggressive
legislative action. Cordelia Fire District now needs political/legislative help if it is to succeed in
accomplishing a fair and reasonable solution to its ERAF problem.
SOLANO COUNTY ORDERLY GROWTH INITIATIVE
The Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative has been a financial challenge to the fire districts. First
passed by the voters in 1984 and updated in 1994, the initiative directs development into the cities,
allowing little growth to occur in the county. Unfortunately the unintended consequences of the measure
have been devastating to the fire districts. Solano County has been the fastest growing county in
California in recent years. Almost all growth is directed into the cities. Prior to development in the
unincorporated areas, parcels are typically annexed into a city and detached from a fire district. Very little
new development then occurs in what remains as the unincorporated areas, depriving the fire districts of
new sources of revenue that is, instead, enjoyed by the cities. While the loss of revenue from each
individual parcel may not be significant, cumulatively over time the result has been devastating. The
reduction of service demands caused by the detachment of vacant parcels is small, yet the fire districts’
costs do not decrease. The one type of growth that has increased dramatically in the fire districts is rural
residential (high service demands, low revenue). Commercial and industrial (low service demands, high
revenue) is almost entirely prohibited in the fire districts and is channeled into the neighboring cities
instead.
In the wake of the original version of the Solano County Orderly Growth Initiative, an agreement was
negotiated between the county and the cities to share property tax revenue from properties that were
annexed into the cities and subsequently developed. The intent of this agreement was to compensate the
county government for tax revenue it lost due to annexation and would have received if the development
had occurred without annexation. This agreement has been updated over the years, but remains in force
today. Under the agreement the county receives a share of property tax revenue from properties annexed
since 1978. In the original documents, the Fairfield City Council resolution approving the agreement
makes reference to the county distribution of revenue it receives to “special districts” (among others).
That reference is missing from the county’s version of the resolution. The reasons why the county should
receive a share of those property taxes apply equally to the fire districts. Cordelia Fire District believes
that the affected fire districts should receive a fair share of that revenue from Solano County in turn.
TREND OF INCREASING LOAD OF UNFUNDED RESPONSIBILITIES
A number of properties exist in the county areas that place significant service demands on the fire districts,
yet they pay no taxes. These are typically owned by other government agencies. A good example of such
unfunded responsibilities is Solano College. It generates approximately 10% of the Cordelia Fire District’s
call volume, yet pays nothing. The freeways and Rockville Hills Park are also unfunded responsibilities of
the Cordelia Fire District. The recent opening of Lynch Canyon as a “regional park” has added yet one
more unfunded responsibility to respond to the fire, medical and rescue emergencies for this District. A
park in Lynch Canyon may be a very nice addition to the community; however, it creates an adverse
impact on the Cordelia Fire District that should be funded.
Opening a regional park in Lynch Canyon drastically changes the usage from the historical agricultural
grazing land, closed to the public, to a recreational property open to the general public. Unlike the 633-
acre Rockville Hills Park which is within 1.5 miles from one of the District’s stations, in a well-traveled area
with easily accessible all weather fire trails for fire district vehicles, the 1040-acre Lynch Canyon Regional
Park’s sole entrance is about 7 or 10 miles away from the two District stations respectively, and is only
accessible to the Cordelia Fire District via Highway 80 with response times subject to the traffic delays
common to that stretch of highway. In addition, Lynch Canyon Regional Park does not now have a fire trail
infrastructure. The lack of access coupled with the steep terrain of the park will make fighting fires and
responding to medical emergencies difficult and labor intensive.
Besides the burden of difficulty in merely accessing emergencies at Lynch Canyon Regional Park, plans
for Lynch Canyon include expanded recreational activities beyond the hiking and bicycling offered at
Rockville Hills Park such as horseback riding and hang gliding for a more “regional” customer base.
Accordingly, it is expected that Lynch Canyon Regional Park will generate much more activity and
consequently more emergencies than the variety of injuries, allergic reactions to bee stings, heat
exhaustion, heart attacks, strokes, diabetic emergencies, bicycle accidents, lost hikers and bicyclists and
vegetation fires normally experienced at Rockville Hills Park.
As a Williamson Act parcel owned by Solano Land Trust, the Lynch Canyon property provides about $100
annual revenue to Cordelia Fire District. Historically, as unimproved grazing land, closed to the public,
service demands were minimal so revenue was not an issue. As a regional park, now open to the public,
service demands will increase dramatically along with the costs for the Fire District. Without adequate
county funding, district taxpayers will be forced to subsidize the county’s regional park. The parks system
should pay its fair share of the cost of providing service.
The Board for the Cordelia Fire District has informed the Board of Supervisors that the fire district is
already spread very thinly. The Supervisors have been reminded that the residents of the Cordelia Fire
District have already passed one Special Tax costing homeowners approximately $300 per year – on top
of their property taxes paid – to fund the District’s operational budget before the imposition of service to
the Lynch Canyon Regional Park. The residents of Cordelia Fire District should not be required to spend
any of these funds to subsidize service to a regional park that will be used by a regional general public.
Accordingly, the Board for the Cordelia Fire District has repeatedly expressed to the County Board of
Supervisors its desire to help make the opening of Lynch Canyon Regional Park work for the County as
long as the county paid their fair share of fire district expenses. However, the Board of Supervisors
approved the park and agreed to spend about $250,000 per year to open the park – omitting any
consideration of fire district funding.
PARAMEDIC FUNDING – Yet Another Funding Inequity
Under the County Ambulance Contract, ambulance companies pay money to the County. Solano County,
in turn, subsidizes city paramedic programs at a rate of $45,000 per station per year; but, county fire
districts do not receive any share of those funds even though, in the case of Cordelia Fire District, it has
provided paramedic services since before 1999. Since over 85% of Cordelia Fire District’s calls involve
emergency medical services, Cordelia Fire District has been left to its own devices to figure out how to
cover the costs of keeping equipment maintained and updated as needed, replacing medical supplies, and
keeping its medication supply current and in adequate quantities. It is the position of the Board for the
Cordelia Fire District that its paramedic program is just as viable and necessary to the population it
services as are those of the city fire departments. Cordelia Fire District should share in the benefits of this
program subsidy as well.
APPEAL TO THE CANDIDATES AND CITIZENS OF THE GREEN VALLEY/CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT
It is critically important to the viability of the Solano County fire districts generally, and Cordelia Fire District
specifically, to rectify the pattern of funding inequities in order to ensure dependable fire, rescue and
paramedic services to all county residents. In short, this fire district has struggled and succeeded in
implementing creative solutions to keep the doors open and provide quality services and response times.
But our organizational structure and expenses are both fixed and barebones. Any loss of revenue will
equate to loss in service.
Cordelia Fire District has no position, for or against, any development projects within its district boundaries
as long as the County Supervisors adopt and maintain policies that mitigate the unintended adverse
effects Cordelia Fire District has experienced as a result of a series of community growing pains, policy
decisions and ballot measures that have occurred over the last several decades.
Each problem articulated herein represents a solvable problem, but will take the determination and
commitment from the Board of Supervisors to make it happen.
Make your voice heard. Be sure you let the candidates know what is the will of the people!
CORDELIA FIRE DISTRICT’S ANNUAL BUDGET
Since no discussion regarding “funding” ought to be decided without review of the related expenses, the
Board for Cordelia Fire District offers the following budget information for your consideration.
Cordelia Fire District currently has two fire stations, one of which is leased from the Fairfield/Suisun Unified
School District on a month-to-month basis, that are well located for servicing the territory within its current
boundaries – except for the new Lynch Canyon Regional Park (addressed above as a separate funding
issue). Each fire station provides twenty-four hour coverage with a staff of three offering the ability to
perform paramedic services amongst them. Each day there is one full time firefighter on duty, sometimes
two. All remaining staffing is with volunteer/residents.
PERSONNEL EXPENSE
Personnel expenses, including all benefits, represent $389,486 (56%) of the District’s total budget of
$685,396. (For a fully paid fire department, personnel costs are typically 90% of the budget.)
Cordelia Fire District budgets for the following paid positions:
- Fire Chief at $50,000 annually
- 3 Paid Full Time Firefighters at $106,000 annually collectively
- Costs of Employment (such as mandatory workman’s compensation and PERS program
requirements) at $193,500 collectively
(NOTE: Assistant Fire Chief(s) receive no pay)
In addition to those specific positions listed above, the district maintains an average pool of 45-50 resident
firefighters (young volunteers preparing for a firefighting career who “reside” in the station for 24 hour
shifts). They are drawn from all over the San Francisco Bay Area by offering a certified training program
for free. Resident firefighters receive a meager stipend of $20.00 per 24-hour shift for a total cost of
$40,000 annually for the entire program. They typically stay and serve the district until their training is
completed and/or they land a paying position as professional firefighters for departments elsewhere.
Besides the firefighting staff, the administration of the fire district is also dependent upon volunteer
services. Patty Huyssoon (the Chief’s wife) makes more than a full time commitment volunteering her
services to Cordelia Fire District as Office Manager – without compensation. She provides all the
accounting, general administrative, human resources, and reception work for the Fire Chief, the Board, the
Firefighters’ Association, and the fire district at large.
The pay rates are seriously deficient given the responsibilities and services received. As volunteers have
become more sparsely available in these modern times, attracting qualified people to provide the myriad
services necessary to ensure a dependable succession of competent command and control of the district’s
operations is an issue about which the leadership of Cordelia Fire District is ever mindful. To replace any
of these services would require considerable expense. Yet there is no extra money in the budget available
to even consider offering competitive compensation.
EQUIPMENT EXPENSE
Besides the personnel costs to the district, equipment costs represent a significant expense to the budget.
Annual equipment maintenance and repair expenses have skyrocketed in recent years. So far this year
costs have exceeded $50,000 and the fiscal year still has three months to go. This is because (with the
exception of the three new defibrillators, funded through generous local citizen’s donations last year)
almost all equipment owned by Cordelia Fire District is old and rapidly becoming excessively costly and
difficult to maintain and repair. It is getting ever harder to find parts. The district recognizes the
obsolescence of its aging equipment and is taking action to plan and budget replacements. This is
especially advisable in a fire district because loss of life is the risk we run with inoperability of our
equipment. The district is proceeding with the replacement of some of the less costly equipment, yet there
is inadequate money in the current budget and anticipated future revenue to even come close to replacing
the most essential (and costly) equipment.
OPERATIONS EXPENSE
The lion’s share of the remaining budget of about $186,000 (28%) gets spent on the operating costs
required for keeping two fire stations functional twenty-four hours per day such as electricity, water,
insurance, supplies, uniform cleaning, housekeeping, etc.
CORDELIA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
BUDGET 2007-2008
INCOME
PROPERTY TAXES 234,300
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT 334,500
MISC. TAXES 18,000 586,800
INTEREST 7,500
HALL RENTAL 32,000 39,500
MISC. INCOME 6,200 6,200
DEVELOPER FEE 40,900
PLAN CHECK FEE 7,000
COST RECOVERY 5,000 52,900
TOTAL INCOME 685,400
EXPENSES
PAID STAFF WAGES 156,000
RESIDENT FIREFIGHTERS 40,000
COSTS OF EMPLOYMENT 193,500 389,500
OPERATIONS 205,700 205,700
EQUIPMENT LEASE 40,600 40,600
BUILDINGS 10,000 10,000
RESERVES 39,600 39,600
TOTAL EXPENSES 685,400
NOTE: This is a simplified statement for public discussion. Complete financial records are available for
inspection at the Cordelia Fire Station.
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES
1. Solano County officials have stated that the county has no legal responsibility for fire protection. Given
the fact that the county IS our municipal government and the county government has a long pattern of
funding all kinds of programs that it does not legally have to (like road maintenance and parks), do you
believe Solano County government has any moral responsibility for fire protection in the unincorporated
areas?
2. How would you rank the following programs in the order of county funding priority?
- Law enforcement
- Education
- Health care
- Parks
- Youth programs
- Water
- Sewer
- Roads/transportation
- Fire/rescue/emergency medical services
3. Given the explosive growth Solano County has experienced over the last 30 years and the increases in
the costs of running a fire district since the passage of Proposition 13, how and when would you
recommend the county might address the inadequacy of the post Prop 13 allocation of funds available to
the fire districts?
4. Even though it took major fire damage before taking action, San Diego County has approved $8.5
million a year from its General Fund over the last few years to boost fire services while their county
leadership comes to terms with whether and how to merge its fire districts in the unincorporated areas and
improve overall county disaster response capabilities. Would you support allocating money from the
General Fund to support the fire districts in the unincorporated areas as a priority – specifically Cordelia
Fire District – to bridge the gap between now and such time that the county decides to address a cohesive
and comprehensive plan for the provision of county wide fire, emergency medical, rescue and disaster
planning?
5. The burden of costs of servicing the Lynch Canyon Regional Park currently falls squarely on the
shoulders of the Cordelia Fire District taxpayers. Do you believe Cordelia Fire District ought to receive
funding from Solano County for the performance of fire, rescue and emergency medical services to
regional use facilities such as Lynch Canyon Regional Park?
If “yes”, please explain your solution?
If “no”, please explain your rationale?
6. Three issues discussed in the background material funnel revenue into the county’s General Fund.
Proposition 172 was passed via campaign portrayal of revenue going to help all public safety, including fire
protection. Williamson Act subventions replace property tax revenue that the county, the fire districts (and
others) would have received in the absence of the Williamson Act. The property tax revenue sharing
agreement between the county and the cities replaces tax revenue that the county, the fire districts (and
others) would have received in the absence of the Orderly Growth Initiative. All revenue from these three
sources is funneled into the county General Fund. The fire districts receive nothing. Please explain why
this is good governmental policy or explain what you would do to correct this situation.
7. As part of the “County Ambulance Contract” program that is in place, city fire departments providing
paramedic services are paid $45,000 per station per year by the contract holder. Would you be in favor of
expanding the program to provide equal treatment to the fire districts in the unincorporated areas – or at
least Cordelia Fire District – that provide paramedic services as well?
If “yes”, please explain your solution?
If “no”, please explain your rationale?
8. What will you do as a Supervisor to address the inequity of the Cordelia Fire District’s ERAF
assessment?
