Countywide : Board Creates Fire Protection District

The County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the creation of the largest consolidated fire protection district in the state, although residents in the 16 cities and the unincorporated areas it will encompass should not notice any changes in service or in their taxes.

The reorganization is designed to give cities a direct voice in governing the County Fire Department, which currently is a county agency under the control of the supervisors. The change should occur in January, 1994.

The cities currently served by the County Fire Department will continue to be served by the agency, which also will continue to be funded by existing property taxes and fees.

A change in state law also is required to transfer authority to the seven-member board that will oversee the operations of the Consolidated Fire District. The board will include representatives of six cities on a rotating basis and one county supervisor.

State legislation sponsored by state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) that will enable the formation of the district is pending in Sacramento.

The legislation is needed in part to form the district without a vote of the public, which would cost about $1 million, said Ron Rubino, county budget director.

“I don’t think the public is going to see any changes,” Rubino said. “This is a different way of governing. It doesn’t change the direct service.”

The Consolidated Fire District is a response to changing demographics and a concern by some cities that they had little to say about how the department is run.

In the past, most of the area served by the County Fire Department was unincorporated territory, governed by the Board of Supervisors. But because of the incorporation of new municipalities, 85% of residents served by the Fire Department now live in cities, said Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey, who represented the cities in their negotiations with the county.

With city representatives serving on the new fire district’s governing board, they will have a greater voice in how fire services are administered, he said.

The wages and benefits of Fire Department employees will be unchanged, but they will become employees of the consolidated district rather than of the county, Casey said.

The county firefighters union has adopted a neutral position on the change, while administrative and civilian employee groups in the Fire Department have endorsed the consolidated district, he said.