Amador County - Ongoing debates over different proposals for a county-wide fire services plan have created a rift between the county and some of its fire services entities. In a TSPN interview, Amador Fire Protection Authority (AFPA) Chairman Connie Gonsalves said the “ultimate goal of the plan is consolidation of county-wide fire services with the concept that each department keeps its own identity.” The meat of the debate centers on a plan approved by the Amador County Fire Protection District (AFPD) – also the Amador County Board of Supervisors – which proposes new Battalion Chief and Training Captain positions to be filled by members of CALFIRE in order to coordinate and supervise all seven county fire districts. This is contrary to a plan created by AFPD Chief Jim McCart which proposes the Battalion Chief be hired locally and does not include a Training Captain. “CALFIRE is expensive…but CALFIRE knows fire and understands rural environments,” said County Administrative Officer Terri Daly in a presentation before the AFPA last week. She said the board agrees to fund the cumulative cost of these contracts and redundant costs will be eliminated with the goal of eventually “shifting (the plan) to local paid personnel” over three years. Her proposal was immediately criticized by members of the Sutter Creek Fire District (SCFD) as costly and vague. “It’s a wide open documents and I for one still have a lot of questions,” said SCFD Administrator Dominic Moreno. Another SCFD supporter called it “backdoor politics if we can have the county and state come in and put a spike in our back.”
SCFD Commissioner Ron Watson says his district has a host of problems with the county’s plan. “The cost difference to hire state union employees under the county’s plan adds an additional $222,954,” he said. “Not to mention it overcomplicates the chain of command with no interface with the existing AFPD Battalions.” He said perhaps the biggest problem with the county plan is that “funding only lasts one year, then you have to find somewhere to make reductions somewhere else.” AFPD Chief Jim McCart believes “we need to hire local government employees, not give our money back to the state.” He said he sees his proposal as the “most viable option” but he is open to other opinions. In addition to the SCFD, representatives from Ione and Plymouth have questioned both plans and what it means for their cities. The discussion will continue at the next AFPA meeting on March 18th and the AFPD meeting on April 6th. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Friday, 05 March 2010 01:09
Amador-Wide Fire Plans Cause Disagreements on Costs, Hiring
Amador County - Ongoing debates over different proposals for a county-wide fire services plan have created a rift between the county and some of its fire services entities. In a TSPN interview, Amador Fire Protection Authority (AFPA) Chairman Connie Gonsalves said the “ultimate goal of the plan is consolidation of county-wide fire services with the concept that each department keeps its own identity.” The meat of the debate centers on a plan approved by the Amador County Fire Protection District (AFPD) – also the Amador County Board of Supervisors – which proposes new Battalion Chief and Training Captain positions to be filled by members of CALFIRE in order to coordinate and supervise all seven county fire districts. This is contrary to a plan created by AFPD Chief Jim McCart which proposes the Battalion Chief be hired locally and does not include a Training Captain. “CALFIRE is expensive…but CALFIRE knows fire and understands rural environments,” said County Administrative Officer Terri Daly in a presentation before the AFPA last week. She said the board agrees to fund the cumulative cost of these contracts and redundant costs will be eliminated with the goal of eventually “shifting (the plan) to local paid personnel” over three years. Her proposal was immediately criticized by members of the Sutter Creek Fire District (SCFD) as costly and vague. “It’s a wide open documents and I for one still have a lot of questions,” said SCFD Administrator Dominic Moreno. Another SCFD supporter called it “backdoor politics if we can have the county and state come in and put a spike in our back.”
SCFD Commissioner Ron Watson says his district has a host of problems with the county’s plan. “The cost difference to hire state union employees under the county’s plan adds an additional $222,954,” he said. “Not to mention it overcomplicates the chain of command with no interface with the existing AFPD Battalions.” He said perhaps the biggest problem with the county plan is that “funding only lasts one year, then you have to find somewhere to make reductions somewhere else.” AFPD Chief Jim McCart believes “we need to hire local government employees, not give our money back to the state.” He said he sees his proposal as the “most viable option” but he is open to other opinions. In addition to the SCFD, representatives from Ione and Plymouth have questioned both plans and what it means for their cities. The discussion will continue at the next AFPA meeting on March 18th and the AFPD meeting on April 6th. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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