Currently, Saratoga is the only city in the county that is served by two fire districts—the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District, which covers half of the city as well as the unincorporated areas to the north, east and southeast, and the Saratoga Fire Protection District. The SFPD is responsible for the remaining half of the city as well as land toward the southwest.

The two separate entities entered into a five-year boundary drop agreement back in August 2001, which means that if the SFPD receives a call, crews from the county fire district will also be notified due to a shared dispatch system. Depending upon the type of emergency dictated by the agreement, firefighters from the county fire district will automatically respond. Likewise, if the county fire district receives a call, the SFPD will do the same.

Ron Vega, the SFPD assistant chief, said that there are benefits to having two fire districts.

"It's worked out well so far," he said. "We've worked seamlessly together in sharing valuable resources and providing the amount of service that residents are paying for in taxes."

SFPD Chief Gordon Duncan also said he supports the concept of a boundary drop and would like to enhance it in the future to include other agencies.

However, Mayor Ann Waltonsmith, who is on the LAFCO ad hoc committee, said she is concerned about the differing amounts in tax dollars residents are paying and the level of services each district is providing.

"We need to make sure that each half of the city is getting the same level of services for the same amount of money," she said. "Each district should have the equipment necessary to deal with certain situations. If one entity has to call on another for assistance, that may be a problem."

However, Duncan said that the need for fire protection services is not the same in Saratoga as it is in other cities. He said that the potential for a major disaster is less than what it would be in a more industrialized area.

The report states that "the depth of resources provided by the county is obviously deeper than that available from the SFPD," with 16 fire stations and 279 paid staff, of which 148 are firefighters and 64 are fire chiefs. In contrast, the SFPD has one fire station on Saratoga Avenue and 29 paid staff.

In addition, a budget summary shows that the SFPD spent $3,954,889 in operational and capital costs for fiscal year 2002­03 and gained $3,671,550 in property taxes, whereas the county fire district spent $49,502,701 for the approximate 10 areas it covers and gained $4,661,695 in revenue just in Saratoga.

According to Waltonsmith, residents living within the SFPD had to pay more in property taxes to help fund the new fire station, whereas those living in the county fire district paid less due to money that the county had saved.

"We're still in the process of gathering all of our facts and laying out all of our options," said Waltonsmith. "But our goal is to provide all of our residents with in-depth service at a fair cost."

LAFCO presented the city with four options, one of which required the dissolution of the SFPD and annexation into the county district. According to Waltonsmith, the advantage of this option would be that the residents receive a uniform level of service. However, Duncan said he is against this option.

"I would not support anything that would do harm to any other agency," said Duncan.

According to Duncan, if the county fire district were to take over the SFPD, it would mean that the district would have to somehow find at least another $1 million in order to provide the same level of services the SFPD offers.

"If the county doesn't come up with the money, something or someone will have to be cut," he said.

Another option is to have the SFPD take over the entire city. Under this option, Duncan said that Saratoga would benefit because it would gain an approximate $3.5 million from acquiring the county-owned station on Cox Avenue. He said that although the money could be used to hire three more battalion chiefs and to upgrade fire equipment, it is money that would be taken away from the county's budget, hence affecting the agencies it contracts with.

The other options entail dissolving both districts, leaving the city to contract with other agencies and maintaining the boundary drop agreement.

Residents will have a chance to voice opinions at the next city council meeting on Jan. 7. There will also be a public hearing sometime in February.