Kelseyville Fire Protection District is considering forming a Fire Community Facilities District ("CFD") to fund various Fire and EMS services. In an effort to adequately inform the residents of Kelseyville about this collaborative governance process, CivicMic provides answers to the most common questions asked by survey respondents through the Kelseyville Fire CFD FAQ below.
Kelseyville Fire CFD FAQ
A: Kelseyville FPD is proposing the creation of a Fire CFD to finance a new fire station, salaries for staff, a new fire engine, and ambulances in the Soda Bay corridor.
Fire Station
This would be incredibly impactful for the nearby residents because it would be the first fire station located within a 5-mile radius of homeowners. This would significantly reduce response rates, allow for adequate coverage, and even potentially reduce insurance rates for homeowners by enhancing the ISO rating.
Fire Engine and Ambulances
In order to have operational Fire and Emergency Medical Services within the proposed Kelseyville Fire CFD, proper and functional equipment will be required. A new fire engine and ambulances will ensure optimal functionality and prevent possible malfunctions during emergencies. This is crucial because 90% of the Fire District’s calls request Emergency Medical Services.
Staffing
Adequate Firefighters and EMT staff are vital for the fire station to operate at maximum potential. The proposed Kelseyville Fire CFD would ensure that staff salaries would be financed and that a sufficient number of employees would be staffed. This would result in enough qualified employees to both maintain optimal response rates and reduce coverage issues in the Soda Bay corridor and multiple surrounding areas.
A: The primary reason why Kelseyville Fire Protection District is considering putting a fire station in the Soda Bay corridor is that it is centrally located in the middle of Buckingham Peninsula and Soda Bay, which makes it within a 5-mile radius for numerous surrounding communities. Consequently, this would substantially decrease response times, ensure adequate coverage for EMS and Fire Services, and potentially save the lives and assets for the maximum number of homeowners and residents in nearby areas. Additionally, it would potentially reduce the insurance rates by enhancing the ISO rating for the affected homeowners.
Surrounding communities that would benefit from this location include:
- Riviera Heights
- Buckingham
- Riviera West
A: Please contact your insurance agent to determine how the location of the proposed new fire station in the Soda Bay corridor would potentially reduce your insurance rates by enhancing the ISO rating.
A: Please click on the links below to learn more about Community Facilities Districts and the proposed annual rates to be added to the property tax bill if the Fire CFD is approved by the affected registered voters.
A: The charge for the proposed Fire CFD, if approved, will be added to the property tax bill of parcels within the Kelseyville FPD service area. Please click here to find the rate applicable to your property. Rates are shown as an annual amount.
A: The rate applied is based on the land-use code, parcel size, and building square footage as shown by the County Assessor's Secured Roll. In this scenario, the rate may be applied as agricultural or residential depending on what the County shows for land use.
A: All parcels within the Kelseyville FPD service area are subject to the special tax. The special tax will be added to the property tax bill to be paid by the property owner.
A: Please note that the consideration of property value in the setting of the rate is specifically prohibited by law. There is specific language in the Mello-Roos Act that prohibits the special tax consultant from considering the value of the property.
A: Yes, the current fee will be superseded by the new special tax rate.
Originally, an ordinance was passed in 1996 to impose a special tax for fire protection services. The tax rate set forth in the ordinance was not to exceed $1.00 per unit. The amount of tax was determined by units of benefits per assessor parcel.
To read the entire ordinance or see the Units of Benefit Table in Exhibit A of the ordinance, please click the link below:
http://www.kelseyvillefire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ordinance-17.pdf
A: The formation of a Fire Community Facilities District (Mello-Roos) special tax does NOT have an impact on the funding the Fire District receives through its share of the ad-valorem property tax (the 1% - the AB 8 share). However, that does not mean that a share of the 1% ad-valorem property tax can’t change for the Fire District. There are reasons when it can change, but they are not related to what is being proposed by establishing a special tax to provide additional funding to the Fire District.
Click here for a great article by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office on this topic.
A: This is the way the law is written and there is no alternative option. It is important to note that this is not unique to a Fire CFD. The same scenario occurs when a measure that results in additional property taxes is placed on the ballot. For example, general obligation bonds, school district parcel taxes, police parcel taxes, EMT parcel taxes, and others – all approved by registered voters yet the property owners pay for it via the property taxes. It is not necessarily fair, but this scenario of registered voters voting on property taxes to be paid by property owners is common practice in California.
A: The requirement, by law, is a 2/3rd yes vote from the ballots cast from the registered voters - registered with an address of a parcel subject to the proposed special tax. Only ballots returned count – so, it is 2/3rds of the total ballots returned not ballots initially mailed out.
Property owners and renters not registered to vote at an address subject to the tax will not receive a ballot. This is as prescribed by law – the Fire District does not have an option regarding voting requirements for the proposed Fire Community Facilities District.
Please visit the website for the County of Lake Registrar of Voters (https://www.lakecountyca.gov/818/Registrar-of-Voters) for voter registration information.
A: According to the Mello-Ross Act, voters registered at the address subject to the CFD tax get to vote. Landlord property owners may register to vote using the address of one of their rental properties to receive a ballot. Renters registered to vote at an address subject to the CFD tax will also receive a ballot.
A: The total number of registered voters for the complete fire district service area is around 7,800.
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