Lea este artículo en español aquí.
As negotiations over countywide fire protection services continue for a fourth month under a new City Council, the city of Hollister is proposing a new deal to San Juan Bautista and San Benito County. Instead of naming a fee, the Hollister City Council says it’s up to the two jurisdictions to figure out how they’ll split a $3.9 million fee increase.
The new terms are proposed as the county analyzes creating its own fire department and pulling out from a countywide fire district feasibility study.
The new terms approved by the City Council on April 7 include an annual cost increase of 8% and a one-time payment of $1.25 million. The contract also calls for Hollister to be reimbursed for expenses, development reviews and fire inspections. It also calls for reimbursement for ambulance expenses dating back to 2019. The contract, which would expire June 2028, can be terminated with a 270-day notice and includes a 90-day negotiation period. If the negotiation period expires without an agreement, the city will continue to provide fire services through Dec. 20.
Hollister claims it is currently subsidizing fire services to the county and San Juan Bautista by about $4 million annually.
Hollister City Manager David Mirrione said the fee increase not only takes into account inflation but also one-time costs such as equipment replacement. He said the increase was still a “generous offer.”
As an example, Mirrione said replacing radios can cost several hundred thousand dollars.
“These contracts have not in the past taken that into consideration,” Mirrione said.
If approved by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and San Juan Bautista City Council, the contract would take effect in July.
Negotiations continue
Previously, the city proposed to increase the county’s share of fire protection costs by $1.1 million, or 3% annually. For San Juan Bautista, it proposed to increase its costs by $150,000, or 11% annually. Both agreements were retroactive to July 1, 2024 and could only be terminated for a lack of payments.
Hollister Fire Chief Jonathan Goulding said in coming up with its new numbers, the city changed its methodology from looking at time spent on calls to considering only the primary station that was dispatched and the jurisdiction of the incident. He said based on the data, Hollister received 60% of the service calls and San Juan Bautista and the county received 40%. He said he applied that ratio to the 2024-25 budget.
San Juan Bautista Mayor Leslie Jordan said her city still has concerns over the costs in the current contract and proposed to hold a joint meeting of the three jurisdictions’ ad hoc committees.
“The goal would be to discuss the current situation and begin drafting an agreement to reflect everybody’s input,” she said.
Community members have also raised concerns over increased home insurance, fire station closures and staffing levels if a deal is not reached.
A little over 12 hours later, the Board of Supervisors affirmed that its ad hoc committee, made up of Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez, will participate in additional fire service conversations. They also established a separate ad hoc committee made up of Velazquez and Supervisor Angela Curro to look into creating a San Benito County fire department. The board also voted to pause participating in the feasibility study until the next board meeting, in order to learn more about how having a fire department affects a fire district and mutual response.
The board has said the county lacks funds to pay what Hollister is requesting for its services. Hollister has been the provider of fire services for unincorporated areas of the county since 2013. Cal Fire also provides services to the state responsibility areas, which covers the majority of the county.
Velazquez, the former mayor of Hollister, has for several years said a fire district would be the best long-term solution for fire service in the county. At the April 8 meeting he said he was concerned about whether the feasibility study can be completed before the 2026 election.
“The timing is off right now,” he said. “We’re going to find ourselves having to pay to do the study again.”
The study is estimated to cost about $100,000, with the county and Hollister paying $45,000 each and San Juan Bautista paying $10,000.
Supervisor Mindy Sotelo said it was still worth pursuing the feasibility study in case the jurisdictions reach an agreement.
“The negotiation with Hollister, even if we’re successful with that, still expires in 2028,” she said. “It’s right around the corner.”
Long standing issue
Fire service costs have been an issue for Hollister for several years. Velazquez, when he was Hollister mayor, told the City Council on March 18, 2019: “We’re carrying the burden and we are subsidizing the county by quite a bit of dollars.” He added, “I’m raising the flag here, a warning flag. We’re headed for trouble—big financial trouble.”
The San Benito County 2022-23 Civil Grand Jury Report found that Hollister Fire Department’s resources were stretched thin due to staff shortages and equipment issues. Goulding told the Board of 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 firefighters per 1,000 residents. San Benito County’s ratio is 0.6 firefighters per 1,000 residents.
Related BenitoLink articles
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
The post Hollister puts new fire service deal on the table appeared first on BenitoLink.