To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Terri Wright - 565-3775
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Fire Protection Services Agreements with City of Healdsburg and North Bay Fire
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the County Administrator to amend the Agreement with North Bay Fire to increase the contract to include funding from the Wilmar and Mayacamas Community Facilities District, for a not to exceed amount of $153,200.
B) Authorize the County Administrator to enter into a 1 year agreement with the City of Healdsburg to provide fire protection services for the Fitch Mountain and Dry Creek-Sotoyome Service Areas, for the period from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, for an amount not to exceed $167,694.
C) Approve a budget resolution to the FY 2019-20 Budget increasing expenditure appropriations by $262,694 in Community Services Areas # 40 ,Community Facilities Districts #4, #5, and #7, and Fire Services Project Funds per the attached Budget Resolution.
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
This items requests authority to enter into agreements with the City of Healdsburg and North Bay Fire to provide fire protections services in the Fitch Mountain, Dry Creek-Sotoyome, Wilmar, and Mayacamas service areas. The County of Sonoma has entered into an Agreement with North Bay Fire to administer the Volunteer Fire program providing fire services in Community Services Area (CSA) 40. The agreement, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors on March 19, 2019, did not include a provision to assign funding from the three Community Facilities Districts (Mello Roos CFDs) administered by the County, nor did it account for the long-standing agreement with the City of Healdsburg.
The actions requested will authorize the County Administrator to enter into agreements with North Bay Fire to include funding for the Wilmar and Mayacamas Mello Roos CFDs and enter into a new one-year agreement with the City of Healdsburg to provide services for the Fitch Mountain and Dry-Creek Sotoyome service areas. To support these contracts, staff is also requesting a budget resolution that increases appropriations in CSA 40, CFD Mello Roos Districts #4, #5, and #7, and Fire Services Project Funds .
Discussion:
North Bay Fire Amendment
On March 19, 2019, the Board authorized the County Administrator to enter into an agreement with North Bay Fire to provide administrative support for the Volunteer Fire Companies that are supported by CSA 40. The annual contract amount of $2,451,500 runs through June 30, 2021 and includes provisions necessary for North Bay Fire to provide the administrative support that was formerly provided by the Fire and Emergency Services Department.
Provisions to allow North Bay Fire to administer the funding for the three Volunteer Fire Companies that have approved Mello Roos CFDs (Wilmar, Dry Creek-Sotoyome, and Mayacamas) was inadvertently excluded from the agreement. Since the CFDs are separate budget units that must be spent directly on the communities that approved the Mello Roos taxes, this Board item authorizes the County Administrator to amend the agreement with North Bay Fire to include these funding sources in the spending plan.
Healdsburg Agreement
The County of Sonoma has contracted with the City of Healdsburg to provide fire protection and emergency response for the Fitch Mountain area since the 1990s and the Dry Creek-Sotoyome area since the 2000s. The funding for this contract comes from CSA 40 and from the Dry Creek-Sotoyome Mello Roos CFD. Due to the timing of the agreement for the City of Healdsburg, staff has determined that it was best to keep the contract obligation between the County and the City of Healdsburg, rather than transferring the administration of this contract to North Bay Fire.
The contract, which is included as Attachment A, was approved by the Healdsburg City Council on June 3, 2019. The agreement is for a one-year term, through June 30, 2020, and costs $124,325 to support the Dry Creek-Sotoyome Zone and $43,369 to support the Fitch Mountain Zone. Funding to support the Dry Creek-Sotoyome portion of the contract will come from the Dry Creek-Sotoyome Mello Roos CFD. Staff will coordinate with both the City of Healdsburg and North Bay Fire to determine how best to proceed for FY 2020-21, which is the second year of the contract with North Bay Fire.
Budget Resolution
The FY 2019-20 Budget includes expenditure appropriations of $113,000 for the Dry Creek-Sotoyome CFD, $132,900 for the Wilmar CFD, and $20,300 for the Mayacamas CFD. The Healdsburg contract for Dry-Creek-Sotoyome is $124,325, which is $11,325 in excess of what is currently appropriated. The Fitch Mountain/CSA 40 contract with Healdsburg will require $43,369 in additional appropriations.
With the dissolution of the Fire and Emergency Services Department, additional appropriations are needed to support accounting service needs of CSA 40 and the Mello Roos CFDs. Additional appropriations are also being requested to cover the HR Matrix contract to administer day-to-day activities of the overall Fire Services Project. Staff will track their time when charging to these funding sources. The table below details the activities that each funding source will support. Lastly, $100,000 in appropriations are being requested to reimburse the Fire Districts for their Lexipol licenses, which enable the Fire Districts to access public safety policy and training resources.
The costs budgeted for the Fire Service Project and in County Service Area #40 do not account for County staff time. It is estimated that approximately $100,000 of County Administrator’s Office and County Counsel time will be needed for this project. The County Administrator’s Office will attempt to absorb these costs within its budget, however there may be a need to return for contingencies should costs overrun available resources.
Funding Source |
Amount |
Uses |
|
|
|
CSA 40 Fire Administration |
5,000 |
Client Accounting Charges |
|
|
|
CSA 40 Fire Administration |
43,369 |
Healdsburg Contract |
Wilmar CFD #4 |
1,000 |
Client Accounting Charges |
Dry Creek CFD #5 |
1,000 |
Client Accounting Charges |
Dry Creek CFD #5 |
11,325 |
Healdsburg Contract |
Mayacamas CFD # 7 |
1,000 |
Client Accounting Charges |
|
|
|
Fire Services Project |
100,000 |
HR Matrix Contract |
Fire Services Project |
100,000 |
Lexipol Reimbursements |
Total |
262,694 |
|
Prior Board Actions:
On June 14, 2019, the Board approved the FY 2019-20 Budget
On March 19, 2019, the Board authorized the contract with North Bay Fire.
Fiscal Summary
Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
Budgeted Expenses |
$7,412,413 |
$7,680,000 |
$7,680,000 |
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$262,694 |
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$7,675,107 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$7,412,413 |
$7,680,000 |
$7,680,000 |
Use of Fund Balance |
$262,694 |
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$7,675,107 |
$7,780,000 |
$7,780,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Below is a summary of the current FY 2019-20 Budget and requested changes.
Budget Unit |
FY 19-20 Adopted Budget |
Budget Resolution |
Revised FY 19-20 |
CSA 40 |
$2,456,500 |
$123,369 |
$2,579,869 |
CFDs |
$266,200 |
$14,325 |
$280,525 |
Fire Services Project Funds |
$4,689,713 |
$25,000 |
$4,914,713 |
Total |
$7,412,413 |
$262,694 |
$7,675,107 |
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Budget Resolution
Attachment A: Agreement with City of Healdsburg
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None