Supervisor candidates agree: Tax increase needed to fund wildfire needs
21 May 2022
Published by: https://www.dailyrepublic.com
USA – FAIRFIELD — The five candidates seeking the 3rd District seat on the Solano County Board of Supervisors support a sales tax increase to help pay for wildfire prevention and protection.
The Board of Supervisors have floated the idea of a one-eighth cent sale tax increase to be placed on the November ballot. Two candidates – Chuck Timm and Jennifer Barton – said they would support up to one-quarter of a cent.
And while all five candidates have emphasized the need to protect the money for wildfire needs only, Wanda Williams is the lone candidate who called for a special tax ballot measure instead of the general tax as proposed.
“If the county needs money for fire services, voters should be asked to pass a special sales tax with a two-thirds majority so that we know exactly what the money will be used for. It would be a shame for voters to approve a general tax that they thought would be for fire safety, only to have a future Board of Supervisors decide they wanted to spend the money elsewhere,” Williams wrote in response to the third in a series of questions asked of the candidates by the Daily Republic.
That question was, “Do you support a sales tax increase to pay for wildfire prevention and protection? If so, for how much? How long? What should the funds be used for?” The candidates’ full responses are posted with this article on the Daily Republic website.
A special tax does specifically define the uses of the revenue, but would take two-thirds support of the voters to get it passed.
A general tax, by nature, leaves open that the funds could be used for other purposes, although all candidates call for protections against that, including the establishment of what Barton calls a watchdog committee. A general tax takes a simple majority of 50% plus one to pass.
“I support up to a one-quarter cent sales tax, specifically for fire protection and prevention in Solano County. It should go to voters in November, include a 10-year option to renew and a watchdog committee for oversight, and must directly support the needs of our fire districts to better protect our cities and residents from the eminent threat of wildfire,” Barton wrote.
Joe Joyce prefers a five-year sunset clause, and if the voters desire, they can renew the tax then.
“So, I would only approve or support that amount if needed. and only once I know how much it was going to be above funding provided from state and federal funding sources expected or already being received,” Joyce wrote. “How long? For five years. And renewable if voter-approved. And what should the funds be for? Prevention and protection only.”
Several candidates said the funds should be used, in part, for consolidation of the rural fire protection districts.
“As to how the projected $9 million revenue per year should be spent: Immediately create and fund one new rural fire district; upgrade the equipment of the current fire stations; clear the areas between residential communities and potential fire sources; improve early fire detection and public warning systems and start the ball rolling on consolidating fire districts,” Pete Sanchez wrote.
Timm wrote, “My opinion is that our local volunteer districts need to be consolidated together, coming together under a single entity . . . Another crucial step is the consolidation of one fire dispatch center for the entire county. This would be a much-needed benefit for all the cities, as fire doesn’t know nor care where it burns . . . An initial length of the sales tax should be 15 years to allow fire districts to respond immediately and plan for future years, protecting Solano residents from potential future disasters.”
Barton wrote, “Any funds raised must be used to stand-up a consolidated countywide Fire Department, implement fire prevention and community risk reduction programs, enhance county fire station firefighting capabilities, purchase additional firefighting equipment to cut fire roads and fire breaks and implement a countywide coordinated training program.”
The election is June 7. If no candidate earns 50% plus one of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in November.
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Here are the full responses from each candidate.
PETE SANCHEZ
I support a 1/8 cent sales tax increase for wildfire prevention and protection for only 10 years, hoping that within 10 years or less our legislators at the Capitol can come up with the necessary fire prevention laws and bigger reasonable funding for county rural fire districts and city fire departments. We need that state action so that within 10 years we can relieve our residents of this additional tax burden on their already depleted finances.
As to how the projected $9 million revenue per year should be spent: immediately create and fund one new rural fire district; upgrade the equipment of the current fire stations; clear the areas between residential communities and potential fire sources; improve early fire detection and public warning systems and start the ball rolling on consolidating fire districts.
It’s been many years since I heard the need for consolidation of rural fire districts. I have heard all the pros and cons of such action when I was Suisun City mayor and director at the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). People have retired since then, equipment has gotten old, systems really need improvements now and here we are, facing annual destructive wildfires and still have not done anything.
Fires don’t respect rural and city boundaries. City fire departments need to be engaged. Let’s hear from them. Rural and city firemen can learn a lot from each other. Electeds need to listen to everyone’s suggestion and concerns on how much is needed and where the funds should be spent.
CHUCK TIMM
I do support the sales tax proposed by the county, with the understanding it is 1/8 of 1 percent, dedicated to solely funding firefighting capabilities for the county. My opinion is that our local volunteer districts need to be consolidated together, coming together under a single entity.
I would support up to a 1/4 of 1 percent increase, but the language used to form this entity is crucial, so money raised would be tracked specifically for equitable distribution, and not just placed into one big pot.
Another crucial step is the consolidation of one fire dispatch center for the entire county. This would be a much-needed benefit for all the cities, as fire doesn’t know nor care where it burns.
In summary, I am in support of a 1/8 cent sales tax to be used specifically for comprehensive consolidated fire services in Solano County including dispatch, prevention and emergency response. An initial length of the sales tax should be 15 years to allow fire to respond immediately and plan for future years, protecting Solano residents from potential future disasters.
JOE JOYCE
Yes. The figure that has been proposed has been 1/8 percent. I think if that figure was deemed necessary, I could support it. However, I would question why they would have added a provision to allow the funding to be used for other uses, if they plan for a surplus and put in a provision for another usage?
So, I would only approve or support that amount if needed. and only once I know how much it was going to be above funding provided from state and federal funding sources expected or already being received.
How long? For five years. And renewable if voter-approved. And what should the funds be for? Prevention and Protection only.
JENNIFER BARTON
Those of us who had our bags and animals packed to flee during the LNU fire know that fire risk today is very different from a decade ago; what was sufficient then, is no longer adequate to keep us protected now.
Like the rest of the state, our county has been hit by a new and more deadly kind of fire (a critical risk we face again this year). The most devastating of these in our region was the LNU complex fire, which took two lives and over 300 homes just outside of Vacaville. As a member of the Travis Credit Union Foundation LNU Fire Relief Fund Committee, I read heart-wrenching applications from fire victims, and we distributed over $100,000 to support homeowners who had suffered loss.
That fire was literally just a single wind-shift away from being much worse — breaching the city of Vacaville, or entering Fairfield through Rancho Solano. It has become clear that we can no longer simply rely on state resources. In the case of the LNU Complex fire, lightning strikes had caused thousands of fires throughout California. State resources are desperately stretched at the height of fire season, when they are most needed.
The lethal combination of climate change and drought have driven fire to behave unexpectedly and with increased intensity—it’s a new beast to fight every year. Veteran firefighters who were out fighting the LNU fire that night describe something they’d never before seen: fire that grew so large, so fast. Wildfires that begin in the unincorporated areas can quickly travel into our cities and devastate lives and homes, as we saw in Santa Rosa and Paradise.
This is our reality, and we must do everything in our power to protect families, homes, and open space here at home. We cannot count on others to save us. Our fire chiefs, firefighters, and policy leaders are currently working together to develop a substantive wildfire response plan and are discussing what level of sales tax support is needed.
I support up to a 1/4 cent sales tax, specifically for fire protection and prevention in Solano County. It should go to voters in November, include a ten-year option to renew and a Watchdog Committee for oversight, and must directly support the needs of our fire districts to better protect our cities and residents from the eminent threat of wildfire.
Any funds raised must be used to stand-up a Consolidated County-wide Fire Department, implement fire prevention and community risk reduction programs, enhance county fire station fire-fighting capabilities, purchase additional fire-fighting equipment to cut fire roads and fire breaks and implement a county-wide coordinated training program.
Our cities are surrounded by open space, which is one of the benefits of living in our beautiful county. Our open space, rural neighborhoods and cities are at increased wildfire risk. Wildlife-Urban-Interface (WUI: open space, unincorporated land and cities) must be protected and prepared for the next fire, which we know could be at any time.
I believe it is important for all of us to accept the threat of wildfire and act collectively to avoid a future disaster. I believe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; this money we raise through this measure can save us from more loss of life and property. I believe the time to act is now.
WANDA WILLIAMS
There’s no doubt we need to improve our wildfire prevention and response services. County firefighters are using aging equipment, including some fire engines that are more than 26 years old.
I’m immensely grateful for the many volunteer firefighters in Solano County, but the nature of firefighting is changing, and we need larger budgets to pay for professionals who can fight wildfires in the ever-lengthening wildfire season. We need a centralized dispatch center, which will benefit all our cities and unincorporated areas. The need is obvious, and other counties have passed similar new revenue measures to fund those needs.
I support a sales tax measure to help pay for the deficiencies that fire protection districts in Solano County face. However, I want to guarantee that the proposed $9 million in sales tax generation each year will be used only for fire protection and prevention, resources, training, staffing, and covering the county’s wildfire needs.
Unfortunately, the county has a recent history of repeatedly asking for general fund sales tax measures and then making flimsy political promises to voters about the money being spent for roads or youth services. We cannot allow the current proposed sales tax for fire safety to follow the same troubling pattern.
If the county needs money for fire services, voters should be asked to pass a special sales tax with a two-thirds majority so that we know exactly what the money will be used for. It would be a shame for voters to approve a general tax that they thought would be for fire safety, only to have a future Board of Supervisors decide they wanted to spend the money elsewhere.
This is a problem that is not going away and will likely become worse in the coming decades. Long-term problems require long-term solutions, so I would prefer any revenue measure put to voters last for decades so that our emergency services can plan in advance and know that Solano County will provide the resources they need to keep us safe.
