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Council refuses action on fire service as SFD decides on bids
By Oakley Brooks
The Saratoga City Council delayed any official action on fire service in the city, instead opting to closely watch two decisions on the future of the Saratoga Fire District that are expected this week.
On June 12, the Saratoga Fire Commission will host a public meeting about proposals for contracting services with the county and state fire departments. Fire Commission Chairman Bob Egan said recently that his board would decide on contracting within a week of the public meeting.
One day later, the planning commission will review a final design of the new fire station to be built on site of the present firehouse.
City council members all agreed June 6 they were willing to give the fire district and the planning commission time and space to come to their own respective conclusions.
But several council members issued unequivocal statements that they hoped the fire district would consider closer collaboration with the surrounding county and state fire companies.
"Any answer [that Saratoga Fire gives] that doesn't include tighter cooperation between the entities involved in fire protection is the wrong answer," said Mayor John Mehaffey.
Vice Mayor Nick Streit added he's not happy with the city's current fire service split between the Saratoga Fire District and the county district; he would consider making "some hard decisions" should the Saratoga district not choose to change the way it does business.
City Manager Dave Anderson recommended the council take a wait-and-see approach, telling the council that contracting options before the fire district could resolve issues of safety that Saratoga firefighters and citizens have raised recently.
City Attorney Richard Taylor also told the council that the architectural and land-use issues regarding the new fire station should be resolved by the planning commission.
Firefighter and Citizen Task Force members praised Anderson's detailed report to the council and their loud applause for Vice Mayor Streit's comments indicated they are jibing with the city council's tact on fire service, at least for this week.
The fire commission has yet to publicly show favor for any of the five different staffing options presented by the Santa Clara County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry.
But at a May 31 study session with the two departments and the Saratoga Fire District there was some visible friction between the county and Saratoga Fire. Commission Chairman Egan questioned how his department could afford one county proposal to staff Saratoga Fire Station at current levels for $3.8 million, when the coming fiscal year budget stood at around $3 million. Ben Lopes, the county's assistant chief, said his department hadn't seen any certified financial statements from the Saratoga Fire District and he couldn't "presume to know" the future district budget.
The county's preferred option would be to operate equipment and personnel with Saratoga Fire District as if the two were joined districts, while keeping administrations separate.
Saratoga Fire District Union President Bill Morrison has said he would accept this "boundary drop" agreement, but he favors completely contracting out service to the county.
Meanwhile, Morrison and other Saratoga firefighters have serious concerns about how the two state proposals would affect their salaries. Although both propose slightly higher staffing levels at Saratoga station than the county, the Saratoga Fire District administration could decide to shift to a state salary structure that would mean lower pay throughout the firefighting ranks in Saratoga. Alternatively, the district could opt to freeze the salaries of current Saratoga firefighters until yearly increases in the state salary structure caught up with Saratoga salaries.
Union members from the Saratoga Fire District convinced fellow union firefighters from the California Department of Forestry to write a letter to Egan opposing a contract between the state and the district. The letter cited the potential salary scenario and longer work week for the Saratoga firefighters. The two groups belong to the same union, the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Saratoga firefighters have also been unhappy that plans for the new fire station are going forward while the future of Saratoga fire service is still up in the air. But county fire administration said recently that the new station could accommodate any of the three contract proposals it submitted to the Saratoga Fire District.
The district is also gaining respect in the city planning community by bringing the station's design before the planning commission; as an independent district it's not required to submit to the city's control.
"They're behaving as responsible citizens," said acting Planning Commission Chairwoman Cynthia Barry.
Both the height of the new station and the use permit for a temporary station at the old Contempo Realty building will be issues at the June 13 planning commission hearing. The proposed permanent facility will rise to 35 feet, five feet above the height presently permitted on the lot.
The temporary station will reside in a building seized from owner Charles Hackett by eminent domain. Hackett opposes the district using his former property and is still appealing the eminent domain decision in court.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
