Solutions for fire protection

To the Editor:

Your article opened some eyes to the challenges that the Columbia Fire Protection District, the smallest local district, faces to continue its service. At the beginning, Columbia had a larger population and property tax base concentrated in a small footprint. More recently, the state park carved a hole in it, and most community growth occurred outside of its boundaries. It survived on the backs of volunteer firefighters. Those ranks are now small.

The letter you have published reflects confusion about how fire services are funded. Most district funds come from property taxes, and the appropriation to the districts is determined by the California Constitution and tax code that froze those allocations almost 50 years ago. This applies to Columbia Fire District, the much larger Tuolumne County Fire County Service Area, and the county General Fund, which supports the sheriff and many services. The county Board of Supervisors cannot change those formulas.

Columbia receives a larger fraction of the revenue from its tax base than the County Fire Service Area. Columbia Fire District is simply too small. The County Service Area, with a much larger tax base and area, also has trouble supporting its needs due to the small allocation it is assigned.

Annexation can create other problems. A consolidation of all local fire districts could level the allocation playing field and reduce confusion. Alone, neither would create more revenue for fire service in our county.

The only clear path permitted for fire protection revenue is local voter approval of a parcel tax by a two-thirds majority; or the more difficult statewide process of amending the California Constitution to reallocate property taxes or to allow local jurisdictions to raise additional tax based on the value of the buildings protected by a fire department.

Dennis Randall

Cedar Ridge