NCFPD approves resolution of intention for Community Facilities District

The North County Fire Protection District will be conducting an election on the formation of a Community Facilities District funded by a tax assessment on property within the NCFPD boundaries.

A 3-0 NCFPD board vote June 25, with Fred Luevano and John Van Doorn absent, approved a resolution of intention to form a Community Facilities District. If the voters approve the Community Facilities District, the fire protection district is expected to receive an additional $1,000,000 in revenue each year for 20 years.

“Very, very happy. It will go a long way towards our ability to deliver service,” NCFPD fire chief Steve Abbott said.

The Community Facilities District is contingent upon voter approval.

“The resolution of intention is the first step in forming a CFD,” Abbott said. “You have to wait 30 days until you can actually form it.”

The resolution of intention included the boundaries of the CFD, which in this case matches the territory of the North County Fire Protection District, and the proposed assessment rate. If voters approve the CFD, an assessment of $60 per parcel for a 20-year period will help fund NCFPD facilities.

A special NCFPD board meeting, July 25, will consider the resolution of formation and the resolution of election.

“Nothing is actually formal at this point in time,” Abbott said. “Once we form the district the next step would be to form the election.”

The July 25 board meeting will determine when the ballots will be sent to NCFPD voters and when they must be returned. Because ballots will be cast by registered voters rather than landowners, a two-thirds majority will be needed for passage.

A comprehensive facilities condition assessment identified approximately $26 million in facility needs. In May 2017, NCFPD staff issued a request for proposals for a revenue measure feasibility analysis and public opinion survey. David Taussig and Associates was awarded that contract in June 2017. The August 2017 board meeting created an ad hoc committee of NCFPD board members and staff to define specific objectives to be achieved by a revenue measure. In September 2017, the board contracted with Strategy Research Institute for a public opinion survey on the likelihood of a revenue measure passing. The survey indicated that the district did not have the support at that time for a revenue measure to pass, and in December 2017, the NCFPD board voted to postpone pursuit of a revenue measure until additional public outreach increased the chance of passage.

“This has been two years in the making,” Abbott said.

In January 2019, Strategy Research Institute conducted a follow-up public opinion survey, and on May 28, the NCFPD board set the June 25 hearing date for the resolution of intention.

“The need is for fire stations and it goes back really to about 30 years ago when we started the paramedic program,” Abbott said.

In 1990, the district began providing paramedic service.

“We added about 25% to our workload,” Abbott said.

The district did not add any revenue sources to cover the cost of providing paramedic service but instead deferred funding for building maintenance and upgrades. Since Station 1 on Ivy Street and Station 2 on Winterwarm were built in 1963, major maintenance wasn’t needed in 1990, but those buildings are now more than 55 years old.

“They’re at the end of their useful life. It costs more to upgrade them than it does to replace them,” Abbott said.

Station 3 in Rainbow and Station 4 in Pala Mesa currently utilize portable buildings. Personnel must go between two buildings for any calls.

“An older design actually slows response time,” Abbott said.

The lack of more modern buildings hinders response in another manner.

“We don’t have adequate training space,” Abbott said.

Firefighter and paramedic safety would be improved by having more space between hazardous materials in the station and personnel. The fire stations also lack adequate sleeping space.

“When we have to staff up, there are people sleeping on the floor,” Abbott said.

Building permit applicants pay the county a fire mitigation fee which is distributed to the 17 independent fire protection districts and one county service area with fire protection responsibility, and during fiscal year 2017-2018 the North County Fire Protection District received $690,030.06 of Fire Mitigation Fee Program revenue, but that money must be used for capital projects or to purchase firefighting equipment or supplies which will serve new developments.

“Developer impact fees don’t come anywhere close to covering it,” Abbott said of the need for new fire station facilities.

In many cases Fire Mitigation Fee Program revenue will be allowed for a percentage of the total cost for a new or replacement fire station.

The call volume has increased from 70 responses per year per 1,000 residents to 110 responses per 1,100 residents.

“An aging population would certainly be a contributing factor,” Abbott said.

Fallbrook Hospital closed in December 2014. Ambulances now transport patients to hospitals further away, which not only increased mileage on ambulances but also increased the time an ambulance is not available for a subsequent call. The fire district added an ambulance, and annual expenses including personnel time for the additional ambulance exceed $500,000.

“That’s money otherwise we could be throwing into facilities,” Abbott said.

The district currently has 20,449 real estate parcels although approximately 4,000 of those are public land and would be exempt from the tax. The $60 assessment has no annual escalator and would begin with landowners’ 2020-2021 property tax bills.