Title
Fire and Emergency Medical Services ad hoc Committee recommending the Board receive and file a report on the committee’s activities and provide direction related to the committee and staff participation in countywide fire district sustainability efforts. (Est. Time: 1 Hr.)
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Fire and emergency medical (non-transport) services in El Dorado County are delivered by 13 special districts and the City of South Lake Tahoe. The 13 special districts have nearly 50 stations countywide, of which approximately 20 are staffed full-time by paid firefighters. In total, the districts employ nearly 200 firefighters and chief officers. Total property tax revenues to the districts are approximately $41 million. Several districts have special taxes or benefit assessments that bring in an additional $2.5 million. Due to the effects of Proposition 13, these resources are not spread evenly among districts, resulting in varying service levels throughout the county. The inequities are particularly apparent in rural areas, where the districts’ share of local property taxes is very low due to a combination of factors. Some of these agencies had very low tax rates prior to passage of Proposition 13 because they relied heavily on volunteers. The formula for allocating the local share of property taxes post-Proposition 13 memorialized those low tax rates. The more rural areas of the county typically have lower total assessed value because the housing is less dense and home prices are often lower as one travels farther from infrastructure and services. The result is a low tax rate on a low tax base. As population in the rural areas has grown, the demand for fire services has increased. The cost of delivering fire services has grown as regulations and the county’s demographics have made it nearly impossible to run a volunteer-based fire department.
The challenges related to securing sustainable funding for fire and emergency servic...
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