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On March 18, the San Juan Bautista City Council rejected a new contract with Hollister for fire services because of changes to the number of firefighters assigned to the city’s fire station. The contract’s staffing clause had been changed from requiring a minimum of three firefighters at the San Juan Bautista station to two. The rejected contract also increases the city’s rate by $150,000 retroactive to July 1, 2024, and increases annually by 11%.
A majority of the council members voiced frustration over the modifications to the contract, which was negotiated and agreed upon by then-San Juan Bautista City Manager Don Reynolds and Hollister City Manager David Mirrione, and then approved by the San Juan Bautista City Council in October. Councilmember Scott Freels said San Juan Bautista’s relationship with the county and Hollister has been “damaged.”
Four members of the public, including former Hollister Mayor Mia Casey and former San Juan Bautista Councilmember John Freeman, also urged the City Council to reject the contract. In a 5-0 vote, the City Council then requested that its ad hoc committee, Fire Chief Jonathan Goulding and interim City Manager Ashley Collick, participate in further negotiations.
The previous Hollister City Council, three members of which were voted out of office in November, had sent San Juan Bautista and the county a 270-day termination notice on June 20, 2024, in an effort to press both jurisdictions to renegotiate new terms. On Jan. 21, the new City Council rescinded that notice, saying it was acting in good faith and that it was intended to provide more time to negotiate..
During the March 18 meeting, Hollister manager Mirrione said the original terms of the new fire services contract were not presented to the City Council because he wanted to wait until an agreement was reached with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. Both contracts were presented to the Hollister City Council on March 18 and were scheduled for March 21 for official approval though several speakers —among them firefighters—who opposed the terms. The Board of Supervisors agendized the contract for March 20 for approval.
When asked who changed the terms, Mirrione did not answer directly but said Hollister’s ad hoc committee, made up of Mayor Roxanne Stephens and Councilmember Rolan Resendiz, directed him to present the current terms to San Juan Bautista.
“We never had an opportunity to even negotiate a third [firefighter],” Freels said. “We were completely left out of these negotiations.”
Goulding said he has not sat down with the city to discuss direction on staffing or when it will be implemented, noting he was not part of the negotiations and was given the contracts on March 13. He said he doesn’t know what the staffing level will be moving forward.
“I can only guess what that direction is going to be,” he said.
At their respective meetings, members of the two ad-hoc committees that negotiated the Hollister-San Benito County contract—Hollister mayor Stephens, councilmember Resendiz, and supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez—praised the contract as a way to continue fire services without laying off firefighters.
Councilmember Jose Aranda said he didn’t understand why San Juan Bautista and Goulding were not included in the negotiations.
“I’m over it,” he said. “I don’t know why we can’t get along and figure this out. I hate to say— it’s bullshit. I don’t think it’s that hard to figure this out.”
He said he didn’t want to talk to anyone about a new contract until representatives of all jurisdictions got together.
Freels was also visibly upset and said San Juan Bautista’s relationship with Hollister and the county had been “wonderful” for four years but that it has been damaged “to the point where I don’t think it’s going to come back.”
“We’re the oldest city in this county, and somebody else is telling us what to do?” he said. “Hell no.”
Mayor Leslie Jordan said her biggest concern was the “brown out” clause in the county’s contract that allows fire Station 3, located at the Hollister Municipal Airport, to temporarily reduce or close operations.
“That puts a strain on every other house,” she said.
Like Aranda, councilmember Jackie Morris-Lopez said she entered the meeting ready to move forward but wanted to continue with “positive talks” in addressing staffing concerns as well as the city paying rent for the San Juan Bautista-owned fire station on Second Street.
“I just want the facts out there, and I want to move forward with what’s best for everybody,” she said.
Mirrione said Hollister had been paying rent for the fire station for “many years outside of an agreed lease.” It is unclear when the city stopped paying rent.
He said the current contract with Hollister will automatically renew for an additional year unless the City Council sends the 270-day termination notice. The deadline to provide the notice is April 5.
San Juan Bautista, Hollister and San Benito County are conducting a feasibility study on creating a fire district. Voters will decide if they want to fund a special district.
According to a presentation to the Hollister City Council in May 2024, the fire department’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year was $14 million. San Benito County contributed $2.2 million (16%) and San Juan Bautista $260,465 (2%) while the city of Hollister provided $10.4 million (74%). The majority of calls to the fire department originated from Hollister (59%) followed by the unincorporated areas of the county (37%) and San Juan Bautista (4%).
The shared services contract has been a point of contention for several years, and cost the city a $2.59 million grant in 2018.
The county’s 2022-23 Grand Jury Report found that Hollister Fire Department’s resources were stretched thin due to staff shortages and equipment issues. Goulding told the county supervisors he had 41 firefighters including “quite a bit” on long term disability. He said two firefighters on disability are not expected to return.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, most fire departments have between 1.5-1.8 rate of firefighters per 1,000 residents. San Benito County’s rate is 0.6.
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