Fire district to seek bids from San Jose, county and the state
Union wants county to win local contract
District would remain
By Kara Chalmers
As promised, the Saratoga Fire District board of commissioners is preparing a formal request for proposals, which it will send out to neighboring fire departments--the Santa Clara County Fire Department, the San Jose Fire Department and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, according to Commission Chairman Bob Egan.
The fire district is considering contracting out for fire protection services, emergency medical services and emergency communications.
A contract with another department would not mean that Saratoga's would be dissolved, said Egan. He explained that the station, equipment and name--the Saratoga Fire District--would remain and the commissioners would still serve, but the district would benefit from the services of another department.
The district's union firefighters have advocated forming a merger between the Saratoga Fire District and the county fire department for the past year and a half, since they say contracting with the county would offer better service for residents of the district, as well as better opportunities and a safer environment for the firefighters.
Due to the firefighter's urging, the district's commissioners--Egan, Jay Geddes and Henry Clarke--agreed to ask the county fire department for cost estimates to contract with it for services. In addition, a study that the district commissioned shows that the district is performing well, but could improve in areas such as communications and ladder truck services. The study suggests contracting out for these services.
The commissioners decided to also send the proposal request to the San Jose department and California Department of Forestry, "to make sure we're doing our due diligence," said Egan. He explained that the commission felt all three nearby departments should be given a chance.
The union president and Saratoga Fire District captain, Bill Morrison, said he does not understand why the district is sending out a proposal request to the San Jose department or to the state--he said the county department is the closest to the Saratoga Fire District--but he is still grateful.
"We know about county and how they operate, and they know about us," Morrison said. "We don't know about San Jose's internal operations, whatsoever ... I know the firefighters have more of a relationship with county than the others.
"San Jose and CDF, they're great departments, but they're not contiguous to Saratoga," he said.
At the Saratoga Fire District meeting on Feb. 8, commissioners hired a consultant, Hugh Holden, to develop a proposal request. On Feb. 8, Holden and the three commissioners studied a model proposal request--the one that Los Altos used when it contracted for services with the county department. They went through the model page by page and made notes on what the commissioners would want in terms of service.
"I just want to say, from the union, thank you for doing this," Morrison said at the meeting. "I think it's really an extremely positive step and I appreciate that you want to do this for us."
Saratoga, California Since 1955
