City Council: Fire Suppression Assessment Tax Approved, Going to Voters

Fire Suppression Assessment rates approved

The Pacifica City council approved fire suppression assessment tax rates Monday evening, which will appear on a f for approval by property owners.

Here is a breakdown of the annual cost to property owners, should a majority of the ballots returned to the city be in-favor of this assessment :

Annual Fire Suppression Assessment Rates FY2011-12 - FY2018/19

$41.13 (on a per acre basis)

The city is proposing that these rates be levied annually over a seven year period. These amounts are the maximum that can be levied, based on consultant firm Wildan Financial Services' engineer's report presented to the city.

City Manager, Stephen Rhodes, commented during the council meeting that this proposed cost to residential property owners is less than that of the prior assessment period.  

According to this engineer's report, the city will generate about $1.3 million annually from the assessment. The report was completed in conjunction with the Fire Suppression Assessment Engineering Analysis, which evaluated the level of fire services provided to the City of Pacifica from 2004 to 2010.

Wildan representative and Senior Project Manager overseeing the engineer's report, Habib Issac, said that from the six years of data that was reviewed, it was determined that 71 percent of calls made to the fire department were non-fire related. While the other 29 percent were fire-related, this figure may have also included false alarms.  

The Pacifica Fire Department provides non-fire services in the form of emergency response (read: situations that necessitate an ambulance or EMT team) and emergency rescues. Issac says that these services "are a benefit to the people." Though 71 percent of calls to the Pacifica Fire Department relate to these services, the fire assessment is intended to pay for benefits to property, not people.

Mayor Mary Ann Nihart says that fire suppression service "is a service the city pays for that really benefits a specific property."

"Benefits to property" is also the reasoning behind the differential cost of the assessment among types of property: residential, non-residential, and agricultural or vacant parcels. Ballots are also weighted accordingly. 

According to a city staff report, "each assessment ballot will be weighted by the proportionate financial obligation of the parcel." In other words, the assessment ballot of a non-residential property owner (paying $678.28 per parcel annually) will have more weight than that of a single family home (paying $73.17 per dwelling annually). 

If a majority of the ballots returned to the city are not in favor of this proposed fire assessment, that city cannot move forward with the tax.

Ballots will be counted at the close of a City Council hearing scheduled on April 11. 

City council also voted that should this assessment pass, a citizens' committee with be appointed to oversee the auditing process of the assessment and report to council on those findings. In past years, a citizens' oversight committee did not review the entire auditing process of fire assessment funds but only the portion that was allocated for replacement of fire equipment.

Councilmember Jim Vreeland recommended that a non-residential property owner be appointed to the committee to represent the rate-paying demographic which will be expected to pay the highest assessment rate. The committee is to be comprised of four citizens and one fire department staff representative.

Other council items:

- Council unanimously voted for the City of Pacifica to join a sub-region, informally referred to as “21 Elements.” This San Mateo County sub-region earned this title for the 21 jurisdictions in the county.

By state law, every jurisdiction is required to update their housing elements, a general plan for housing growth. “21 Elements” was formed as a result of new Housing Element legislation that allowed for contiguous land use agencies, like peninsula cities and towns, to form a sub-region to receive and allocate a collective housing target.

Also known as the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), this housing target refers to the process of updating local housing elements, including land use planning, under the General Plan.

- City council adjourned in memory of long-time Pacifica resident Dody Payne.

“I just really appreciate all that she has done for our city,” said Mayor Nihart.