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Fire District Funding Committee Reviews Progress, Goals
February 19, 2016, Brentwood, CA -- About a dozen members of the East County Voters for Equal Protection (ECV) met in the Brentwood Raley’s Event Center on Wednesday, February 17th, and reviewed the citizens action committee’s progress as well as short-term plans.
The ECV committee has developed a program that would shift $7.8 million of the current $154 million in property tax funds collected within the fire district boundaries to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD), following procedures outlined in the California Revenue and Taxation Code and elsewhere. These funds would allow the district to permanently open and staff three additional fire stations with no additional taxes imposed on residents. The special assessments appearing on tax bills would not be effected.
The ECV program calls for government entities, recipients of the 1% ad valorem property tax, to voluntarily shift a small portion of their property tax allocations to the fire district. District tax payers would not be asked to pay any additional taxes. Phasing in the program over three or four years would mean that no current budgets would be cut, and the reallocated amount would bring the ECCFPD allocation percentage level to approximately average for all fire districts within the county.
Hal Bray and Bryan Scott, Co-Chairs of the committee, reviewed recent informal meetings with elected members of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors, the City Councils of Brentwood and Oakley, and civic administrators. Meetings with candidates for the District 3 Board of Supervisor position, to be open in November of this year, were also discussed, as well as past and planned presentations to civic and service groups. The ECV is continuing to make progress in researching the leadership of the many Special Districts that receive property tax funds within the ECCFPD, in anticipation of garnering their participation.
Members of the ECV reviewed their progress in setting up presentations to civic and service groups as well as progress in researching the leadership of the many Special Districts that receive property tax funds within the ECCFPD.
Changes to the organization’s Facebook page were discussed, as were plans for a printed brochure. Members contributed $150 to defray printing expenses.
The next ECV meeting will be held on Thursday, March 3rd at the same location, the Raley's Event Center, 2400 Sand Creek Road, in Brentwood. The Event Center is located within the grocery store, next to the Pharmacy. The public and all interested parties are invited to attend.
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“East County Voters for Equal Protection” is a non-partisan grass roots citizens action committee formed to address the unequal funding of fire and emergency medical services existing in 249 square miles of Eastern Contra Costa County. About 110,000 residents, as well as those who work and play in Eastern Contra Costa, have services funded at a level one-fourth to one-third of those levels in other parts of Contra Costa County. For more information contact committee Co-Chairs Hal Bray at hal.bray@pacbell.net or Bryan Scott scott.bryan@comcast.net. The group’s Facebook page is located at https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyVoters/ on the Internet.
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