Morro Bay City Council against fire-service contract with CAL FIRE

Morro Bay bypasses fire-service contract with state, seeks other ways to improve services, Firefighters Union requested that the city consider contracting with County/Cal Fire in 2007

Morro Bay leaders have decided against contracting the city’s fire services with the state, instead vowing to come up with other ways to boost staffing and service levels in the coastal community.

The move was more than a year in the making. It comes as officials look for ways to cut costs while increasing fire protection in parts of the city.

The Morro Bay Firefighters Association requested in 2007 that the city explore the possibility of contracting fire services with County/Cal Fire.

Chief among the union’s concerns about the plan was historically short staffing levels, the department being very busy with simultaneous fire and increased medical calls, and improving response times to north Morro Bay.

Mayor Janice Peters said the council decided not to pursue a contract mainly because of the state’s budget crisis.

“It was very hard to make an accurate comparison of the numbers because of the different salary levels and because of the huge question mark as to where the state is going to go with all the budget difficulties,” Peters said.

Other concerns stemmed from the inability to have control over service cuts, should they be made by the state.

Peters said the city could revisit the idea in the future.

Most of the union’s nine firefighters said they were disappointed the city chose not to pursue an agreement with the state.

Ariane Leiter, president of the Morro Bay Firefighters Association, said union members will continue to plan the department’s long term goals.

However, city staff and leaders will need to address the most crucial issues such as reducing response time and increasing staffing levels, she said.

Leiter said she also hopes firefighters who were opposed to a contract will offer their ideas.

Initial estimates provided to the city showed that a contract for four firefighters would have saved the city about $53,000 annually and up to $1.2 million by 2017, based on figures provided by County/Cal Fire last year.

But those estimates were based on a hypothetical staffing situation without any information about the salaries or benefits for Morro Bay firefighters.

Councilmembers Carla Borchard — who served as a Morro Bay reserve firefighter for 10 years — and Betty Winholtz voted against the city not pursuing a contract.

“I was a little frustrated and am frustrated because I’m concerned with the lack of financial resources and how we’re going to afford the (union) contracts we have,” Borchard said, referring to salary increases promised in the union’s most recent labor contract.

To address staffing issues while considering costs, the council has asked Fire Chief Mike Pond to explore a variety of potential staffing options for the city.

Chief among the options he’ll explore are possibly using Cal Fire to a lesser extent and providing additional staffing using part-time reserve firefighters.

The city could look into taxing property owners as a way to raise money to help fire services.

A parcel tax — which can be approved with a two-thirds majority vote — would be levied regardless of the value of a property, according to Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a Sacramento-based tax watchdog group.

City leaders would have to specify what the money would be used for, Vosburgh said.

Parcel taxes are often used to provide additional funding for school programs such as class size reduction and libraries.

The council also voted to form an ad hoc committee to continue exploring ways to address fire service needs in the area.

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