Penn Valley Fi re Protection District Finding 13. The four fire agencies, Nccfd, Gvfd, Pvfpd and Ncfd serving the vast

Recommendations 5

• R1

  Page 80
  The Nevada County Fire Chief's Association should continue to move forward to integrate administrative functions under a JPA in western Nevada County. The recommendation is being implemented. A JPA is just one of the options being considered. PVFPD has participated in discussions, but any reorganization would not be pursued if the same level of service were not provided to the District nor if costs were to increase.
• R2

  Page 80
  The Nevada County Board of Supervisors should direct LAFCo to begin research on the steps necessary to reorganize western Nevada County fire districts into a single fire authority. This should be a priority for the safety of residents in western Nevada County. The recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted or is not reasonable. This recommendation is beyond the authority of PVFPD. All of the current special districts fulfill the taxpayer's wants and needs. The PVFPD does not have authority over the Board of Supervisors. However, prior to initiating a proposal for reorganization, LAFCo is required by Government Code (GC) 56375(a) (3) to conduct a study pursuant to GC Section 56378, 56425 or 56430, and the commission makes the determination specified in subdivision (b) of Section 56881.
• R3

  Page 80
  The proposed new fire authority should consider: • Having one governing board selected by the Board of Supervisors, using the current district designations for representation purposes, • Having one chief and one business office, • Retaining current fire tax fees for each current district, • Having a plan to implement a leveling of the fees within four years, • Being called the Western Nevada County Fire Authority, • Not initially including Ophir Hill Fire Protection District, Peardale-Chicago Park Fire, Rough and Ready Fire, or North San Juan Fire District. The recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted or is not reasonable. This recommendation is beyond the authority of PVFPD. However, the 2 Penn Valley Fire Protection District Health and Safety Code Division 12 Part 2.7 addresses governing boards of fire districts. It appears that changing from an elected board to an appointed board would require an election. An appointed board would remove local control from the voters who created each district. Having one business office would make non-emergency services less accessible to the residents and businesses in each district. PVFPD would need to have personnel in its office for ambulance billing and other administrative functions not provided by the new fire authority. As taxes and parcel fees are established by ballot measures, any changes would require additional elections at additional expense.
• R4

  Page 81
  An interim JPA should be established which would be an interim governing body. That governing body would be a transitional board until a permanent board is established. The interim board would consist of one elected official and one staff member of each agency and one member from the Nevada County Board of Supervisors. The recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted or is not reasonable. This recommendation is beyond the authority of PVFPD. As recommendation three (3) would make all districts involved dependent with appointed members, who would the elected official be?
• R5

  Page 81
  The included districts on the new fire authority should begin discussions for reorganization into an independent fire authority that is under the supervision of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors in order to preserve fire protection services in western Nevada County: • Nevada County Consolidated Fire District • Penn Valley Fire Protection District • Rough and Ready Fire Protection District • Grass Valley Fire Department • Nevada City Fire Department • Higgins Area Fire Protection District • North San Juan Fire Protection District • Ophir Hill Fire Protection District • Peardale-Chicago Park Fire District • Washington County Water Fire District The recommendation requires further analysis, with an explanation and the scope and parameters of an analysis or study. Out of the ten (10) agencies listed above six (6) agencies have not participated and chose not to be involved. Grass Valley Fire and Nevada City Fire are fire departments (as opposed to Special Districts) and 3 Penn Valley Fire Protection District administratively managed in a different way. It has not been established that such a consolidation would benefit the public within PVFPD. Existing proposals would include significant reductions in oversight and increases in cost. Sharing one duty officer for four (4) departments would reduce oversight during significant incidents. It is common for more than one incident to occur at the same time within the ten agencies. The sample organizational chart indicates three (3) personnel for each engine. This would cause PVFPD to hire six (6) additional full-time people as these personnel are not available to staff the ambulances, there would be the additional cost for ambulance coverage. The sample organizational chart would increase staffing to 145 personnel with associated costs to all districts. Staffing for all districts is approximately Y2 of that currently. Closing the PVFPD office would reduce service forcing residents and businesses to travel further for services. Ambulance billing would also have to be addressed. The sample organization chart indicates a significant increase in administrative staff over existing PVFPD staff. There is nothing to indicate any cost savings to the District. NEVADA COUNTY HOLDING FACILITY TRUCKEE COURTHOUSE