Recent developments at the Local Agency Formation Commission, or
LAFCO, the county agency charged with keeping sprawl in check, have
some local officials worried that a
“South Valley” fire agency is about to be forced upon Morgan
Hill, Gilroy and San Martin residents.
Recent developments at the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, the county agency charged with keeping sprawl in check, have some local officials worried that a “South Valley” fire agency is about to be forced upon Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin residents.
While we don’t like the idea of an outside agency forcing any changes on area residents, we do think the idea of a South Valley Fire District is one that merits study.
In these lean budget times, it’s important to look for cost savings and to think outside the box to find them. The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy and the county, which is in charge of unincorporated San Martin, are facing reduced sales tax revenues and the ever-increasing likelihood of revenue reductions from Sacramento.
A South Valley Fire District offers some potential advantages, including economies of scale, reduction of administrative overhead and simplified response to emergencies. If there’s one agency handling calls for fire or medical aid, there’s less confusion about who should respond to cases near jurisdictional borders – and less chance of redundant responses.
Of course, there are some worries as well. If the three communities join fire and emergency medical response forces, there will be some loss of local control. How will decisions about where fire stations, for example, are needed and built be made? How will those facilities be paid for?
Other communities in California – and beyond – have tried multi-community fire districts. We propose that a task force comprised of fire and emergency medical professionals as well as residents and elected leaders from each community be convened to study if and how a South County Fire District might work.
What difficulties did other communities face? How did they address them? What structure for oversight of the fire district did they adopt, and how has that been received by taxpayers? Do they have an elected board of directors and a hired public safety officer or fire chief? How many different oversight arrangements have been tried, which worked best, and why? What sort of cost savings were predicted, and what savings were realized?
An open-minded study of the issue is in order so that South Valley residents can be ready – pro or con – should LAFCO decide to force the issue, or should we decide on our own that creating a SouthValley Fire District is best for our region.
