Lately there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the future
of fire service in our area, and I appreciate this opportunity to
fill in the people living in the unincorporated areas around Morgan
Hill and Gilroy in on the recent events.
Lately there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the future of fire service in our area, and I appreciate this opportunity to fill in the people living in the unincorporated areas around Morgan Hill and Gilroy in on the recent events.
Our unincorporated area is served by the South Santa Clara County Fire District – let’s call it South County Fire. Our department has for years been operated under contract by CalFire – formerly known as the California Department of Forestry, or CDF.
Now it gets a little confusing: The city of Morgan Hill contracts for its fire protection with Santa Clara County Fire District, commonly referred to as “County Fire.” This is an entirely different department from South County Fire. County Fire serves the unincorporated areas in the north end of the county as well as several small cities there.
The two departments have worked very well together, having both mutual aid agreements (where one department routinely assists the other in large fires), and automatic aid agreements (where each department answers some calls as the first-in engine in the other’s area if it is closer).
Both are good departments, but the situation became unsettled last year after County Fire offered to annex the city of Morgan Hill into its department. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors then instructed the chief of County Fire to begin talks with South County Fire with the intent of annexing South County Fire into County Fire – thus creating a single department which would cover all of South County except the city of Gilroy, which has now joined the talks as well.
This, of course, would end CalFire’s contract with South County Fire since our area would then become a part of County Fire. CalFire has countered with an offer to operate Morgan Hill’s city department for about two-thirds of what County Fire is proposing, but can’t submit a formal proposal to the city unless it is requested. At this time that request has not been made.
So we have a tug-of-war going between CalFire and County Fire to see who will be the fire service provider for Morgan Hill, and quite likely the unincorporated area as well. Should CalFire win, it would then serve both Morgan Hill and the unincorporated area, and it would seem logical (but not necessarily so) to merge Morgan Hill and South County Fire into one department. Should County Fire prevail, it could then ask the county Board of Supervisors for permission to annex South County Fire into its department.
Should Morgan Hill annex into County Fire? That’s the city’s decision, and as a commissioner of South County Fire, I have no desire to interfere with Morgan Hill’s decisions. I will say this, however: In the seven years I have served on the South County Board of Fire Commissioners, CalFire has done an outstanding job of operating our department. I believe our people are as good as anybody’s, our training is as good as anybody’s, our equipment is top of the line, and our administration has done a great job of providing first-rate fire protection in a very cost effective manner.
South County Fire operates three stations year round, and contracts with CalFire to keep the Pacheco Pass CalFire Station open in the winter months to provide fire and paramedic service to the eastern end of our district. It does all this for slightly more than $4 million per year with balanced books. County Fire has said it needs $5.2 million to operate Morgan Hill’s two stations. If this is correct, I don’t see how they could operate South County Fire as cost effectively as CalFire does.
Would County Fire do a better job for us than CalFire? I don’t know, but I would be quite reluctant to give up such a good service for one I’m not sure of, and a decision may have to be made in the near future. Since South County Fire is a special district of Santa Clara County, the County Board of Supervisors could override our commission and make the decision for us, but I’m sure our commission will have a significant influence on their decision.
The South County Board of Fire Commissioners was appointed to represent you, the citizens of unincorporated South County. If you have questions or an opinion on this matter, I would be glad to discuss it with you, or you can contact any of the other six South County Commissioners.
South Santa Clara County Fire District Board of Commissioners
Representing the Morgan Hill Area:
Janet Burback 408-887-8507
John Monaco 408-489-3308
Spencer Smith 408-621-8914
Representing the San Martin Area:
Steve Ludwig 408-857-2827
Charles Jackson 408-842-2177
Representing the Gilroy Area:
Joan M. Lewis 408-842-8698
Jim Geiger 408 842-0235
