City says fire services hinge on ballot measure
BRAWLEY — Brawley Fire Department Station 2 will be closed and all BFD reserve firefighters would be eliminated if the city’s utility users tax isn’t renewed by voters on Nov. 2, city officials said.
The utility tax generates approximately $1.9 million per year for the city of Brawley. It is set to expire May 31, 2022.
The city collects the tax on cable television, landline telephone communication, electricity, natural gas, water, sewage and garbage collection services.
The tax is completely local, as it is used for local services and is 100 percent collected by the city.
The city said the tax helps maintain citywide staffing levels and supports a wide array of city services, including police and fire, parks and recreation, library, Senior Center services, animal control, city planning and development, building maintenance, and city administration.
The utility tax was first approved by Brawley residents in 1991. Since then it has fluctuated between 3 percent and 5 percent. It is currently 4 percent.
During the City Council meeting Tuesday, Fire Chief Mike York elaborated on what the Fire Department’s five reserve firefighters do.
“These are personnel that work, essentially, a full-time shift, but they are not full-time employees,” York said. “They don’t have rights, benefits, et cetera, so a lot of cost savings.”
York said Fire Station 2 would be closed as a result of lack of funding for staffing if the utility users tax is removed.
Station 2 is on the east side of the city, at 1505 Jones St.
BFD has seven firefighters of various ranks on duty daily. Four are at Station 1, three in Station 2.
The department would be down to five firefighters per day if the utility tax funds weren’t available.
“Obviously, it’s a very much-needed facility, but we have to have people in it to staff it, and this staff model won’t support two stations,” York told the council.
A railroad track divides the east and west side of Brawley, and Fire Stations 1 and 2 are separated by the track.
“One of the major concerns for opening the station [2] was that our train track — a very busy train track — causes very frequent delays getting across from Station 1, which is on the west side of the city,” York said. “Closing Station 2 means that we will have increased response times to that area of the city, meaning the east side, on a normal basis.”
The fire chief told the council that Station 1 isn’t big enough to fit all the equipment currently at Station 2.
“Our ladder truck has no means of fitting anywhere in Station 1,” York said. “We have an outbuilding that’s not conducive to rapid response. Station 2 was built upon newer specifications, taller vehicles, et cetera.”
The Fire Department is one of 15 city services supported by the utility tax.
The utility tax is listed as Measure U on the Nov. 2 ballot.