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| HMB fire district cuts Pt. Montara's fire fee By MATT KAPKO Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 11:03 AM PDT Half Moon Bay Review A threat to cut a chief's salary from its budget seems to have been a successful strategy for the Point Montara Fire Protection District. Because of threats to cut costs by reducing personnel, the PMFPD received a proposal from the Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District that cut their annual bill for fire services by $188,000 from the preliminary bill it received in May. This new budget proposal - given to the PMFPD board at its meeting on Monday - dramatically changes the financial outlook for the district. The previous bill put the PMFPD approximately $150,000 in the red, while this new proposal keeps them in the black with money leftover for reserves. Furthermore, it appears the PMFPD board won't need to max out its district's benefit assessment tax to help balance its budget. "We tried to present an approach that reflected some reality," said HMBFPD Director Dave Eufusia, who helped draft the new proposal. Ironically, in that statement Eufusia essentially admits that the PMFPD was being overcharged. The big savings came from HMBFPD dropping its rate for fire services from 28 percent of overall costs to 20.4 percent, but savings for one district simply means more debt for the other. The new proposal spells more debt for the HMBFPD and its taxpayers. The $188,000 savings presented to the PMFPD will essentially be picked up by the HMBFPD, which puts it even deeper in debt at a range of $438,000 to $588,000. Eufusia justified that, saying the PMFPD is only paying for costs associated with its contract for fire services. Furthermore, he doesn't support the contractual relationship between the two districts, so he sees this as an effective way to go down the road to consolidation. "I think any contractual agreement is not an appropriate approach to providing services to both districts. If you look at providing those services on your own, you're going to pay more for them," Eufusia said. "It's not our goal to reduce your costs so you're happy, Eufusia said. He maintains that the change in fees is merely a representation of PMFPD's actual costs. So, it's one of two things - the PMFPD has been admittedly overcharged for fire services for years, or the HMBFPD board caved into pressure and decided to shoulder an additional $188,000 deficit to placate the PMFPD board. The annual salary with benefits for a division chief, which PMFPD was considering cutting, is approximately $195,000. Meanwhile, Eufusia continued aiming criticism at the PMFPD board for not publicly committing to consolidation. "The reason we're here today is because we were handed a bill that bankrupted our district," PMFPD Director Gary Riddell said. "How am I supposed to commit to something when my district is being bankrupted?" he asked. "I don't fault you for representing your district and I don't want you to fault me for doing the same." Many other unresolved issues still stand in the way of consolidating the two districts. "The big thing is the consolidation in the future. You still have all the managerial issues that haven't been resolved," Lane Lees told the board, referring to his pending lawsuit against the HMBFPD for wrongful termination. Although each member of the PMFPD board took concern with some specifics in the new proposal, the board unanimously agreed to it. The HMBFPD board was expected to make a final decision on the proposal at its Tuesday night meeting, after press time. |