Commentary: Time to revisit Bonny Doon fire district proposal

Since 2006, Bonny Doon has been pressing the Local Agency Formation Commission for the right to hold an election to create and fund a Bonny Doon Fire Protection District. The district would be similar to the existing districts serving Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Felton, Zayante and Branciforte. Those districts provide excellent service with a combination of a small paid staff and a group of loyal volunteers. These districts operate efficiently and are beloved and supported by their residents. The Bonny Doon proposal was modeled after those districts.
LAFCo, the county and Cal Fire administration have opposed the proposed election. In my opinion, that is because the Bonny Doon community pays much more in fire taxes than it has ever received in fire protection services, and the county fire administration likes receiving the extra taxes. In an attempt to slow the movement for a Bonny Doon district, county fire is paying Cal Fire to occupy a house adjacent to the McDermott Volunteer Station during the seven non-fire-season months of the year, to appear to provide a 24-7 fire engine to Bonny Doon. (Of course, Cal Fire can call its staff and engine away to other areas whenever it wants or needs to, so it is not really 24-7 coverage. When the engine and crew are called away, it can take hours to send another Cal Fire engine and crew back to Bonny Doon.) Cal Fire uses the same station house during the fire season, but the state pays for those expenses. Cal Fire calls the house Fall Creek Station.
With opposition from LAFCo, county administration and Cal Fire administration, these might seem like dark days for the prospects of a Bonny Doon Fire Protection District. However, with the election of Gov. Jerry Brown, things have changed dramatically. The governor says he is in no mood to play budget games; rather, he seems totally focused on getting the California state budget under control and making that his legacy. Furthermore, he wants Cal Fire to live within its means, by reducing fire-season engine staffing from four to three and by proposing other cutbacks. The Cal Fire era of unquestioned budget growth is over.
Brown proposes to separate out wildland firefighting, which is Cal Fire’s charge and forte, and normal fire district operations, which include structure fires, medical aid, accidents, car wrecks with people trapped inside, car fires, wires down, trees down on roads, safety hazards, etc. These are most efficiently handled by local fire jurisdictions.
Cal Fire administration has sought to expand its budget and influence in two ways: first, by increasing state budget allocations to Cal Fire, and second, by increasing the number of contracts with local cities, counties and fire districts to replace existing local control of firefighting staff with Cal Fire administrators and firefighters.
Cal Fire alleges that it can do the work less expensively, and it bids for work in local communities on that basis. (One could say that Cal Fire has been a large reason for loss of local control of firefighting operations in California for years!)
Cal Fire recently had an opportunity to bid to replace firefighters in the city of San Carlos with its own staff. Just after the November election, reading the handwriting on the wall, Cal Fire administration declined to submit a bid to San Carlos.
With our county board of supervisors deciding not to send a fire tax increase to the voters this spring, with the economy still stuck in a recession and with the state changing its policies, it is time for the county and LAFCo to take a second look at the Bonny Doon proposal. It makes a lot of sense for each community to provide for, control and fund the exact level of fire protection service it desires.
Steve Homan is a retired registered environmental health specialist who has lived in Bonny Doon for 35 years.