Sebastopol Fire Department Merger

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Sebastopol, after 7 years of talks, moves to merge its fire department with neighboring fire district

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The purpose of a city is to provide Police, Fire, and Public Works

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Agenda #5 Fire Svcs Delivery

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Support Merger - The Best Option

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Agenda Item 5

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A Proposal: Sebastopol Fire Department

1. A citizens' fire committee could form itself (the hard part) that might best be led by:

• Retired Fire Department personnel

• Local business owners

• Residents familiar with corporate financial governance

• Lawyers familiar with city and county structures and bylaws

The committee must not include:

• Any current or former members of our city council or government

2. The goals of the fire committee would include (but not be limited to):

• Holding a town hall meeting to solicit input from the community

• Creation of a Sebastopol Fire Protection District similar to the Graton Fire Protection District

• Creation of a plan to secure funding for the district (ideally 20% of Sebastopol's city revenue combined with revenue generated by the 1/2 cent sales tax initiative likely to be approved by Sonoma County voters in March 2024, whatever future grants might be secured, and fundraising events might provide.

• Creation of a ballot initiative that would establish the Sebastopol Fire Protection District and wrest control and responsibility for the Sebastopol Fire Department from the city council.

3. After the Sebastopol Fire Protection District has been approved by voters and a board of directors has been created, Sebastopol would be in a much better position to explore adoption of a JPA with the Graton Fire Protection District because:

• Two similar enities with secured funding sources would be partnering in the process rather than...

• One fire district with a sole responsibility and secured funding partnering with a city council that has many competing responsibilities and dynamic funding considerations.

The above is a first draft at best; input received by the committee in a town hall where concerned participants can provide input might add or remove elements of this proposal. The idea here is to find a better path to success.