Title
Adopt a resolution approving a property tax transfer for Tax Rate Areas 008-001 through 008-034 related to the City of Greenfield detachment from the Greenfield Fire Protection district for the purpose of forming a new City of Greenfield Fire Department.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt a resolution approving a property tax transfer for Tax Rate Areas 008-001 through 008-034 related to the City of Greenfield detachment from the Greenfield Fire Protection district for the purpose of forming a new City of Greenfield Fire Department.
SUMMARY:
Pursuant to State law, boundary adjustments under the purview of the Local Agency Formation Commission are subject to approval of a property tax transfer between the affected agencies. The subject property tax transfer is required as a condition of approval of LAFCO action on the proposed citywide detachment of the City of Greenfield from the Greenfield Fire Protection District.
DISCUSSION:
The Greenfield Fire Protection District is an independent special district that was organized in 1940. The District provides emergency medical services (EMS) as well as fire response. The district's boundaries include both the City of Greenfield and the surrounding rural unincorporated area (see attached map). The City does not currently have its own municipal fire department.
About 95% of the in-district population lives in the City of Greenfield, and, consequently; most (>90%) calls for fire and medical services also come from the District's incorporated (city) area. City residents currently provide about 82% of the District's parcel-based revenues.
In recent years, the district has experienced increasing difficulty in remaining fiscally viable. The District is currently operating in the red and has depleted its financial reserves. The fundamental problem is that the District's revue base has been unable to keep pace with the costs of providing even minimal professional fire/EMS...
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