Amador County – Amador County Supervisor Vice Chairman Richard Forster represented the county and the Regional Council of Rural Counties board of directors on Wednesday in testifying before a regulatory hearing in strong objection to imposing fire fees on structure owners in the State Responsibility Area.
Forster, chairman of the RCRC board’s regulatory committee, testified on behalf of rural counties against State Responsibility Area fees, also referred to as a fire fee, during the San Diego implementation hearing of the California Board of Forestry. RCRC communications director Jehan Flagg said, Forster recognized the hearing was to gather public input for regulatory implementation of existing law, passed in 2011 as Assembly Bill 29X. Forster then took the opportunity to share rural county concerns with the law, just the same.
Forster said: “RCRC has opposed SRA fees throughout this process, and we remain opposed. While we understand the Board is required by statute to adopt permanent regulations imposing the fee, RCRC still believes the repeal of AB 29X is the best approach.” The RCRC includes 31 member counties and represents more than 2.7 million residents.
Flagg said a “number of arguments against SRA fees were made, including the potential long-term liability to the state by assuming a greater role in fire prevention when homeowners paying the SRA fee expect that Cal-Fire has made their homes fire-resistant.” Subsequently, if “homes are destroyed in a wildfire, and it is discovered that Cal-Fire has done little prevention work, those homeowners could have a legitimate claim against the state.”
Forster said “Cal-Fire needs a healthy and strong local fire protection infrastructure to achieve its mission and protect California from the effects of wild fires. SRA fees weaken the state’s mutual aid system by unraveling” the “respond-first-and we’ll-figure-out-the-cost-later” approach to fire fighting.
Forster said: “I can assure you that the rural fire districts I represent will begin to contemplate the costs involved in responding to mutual aid efforts on behalf of the state.”
Flagg said SRA fees also erode grant opportunities. According to calculations by the California Department of Finance, which were presented to the California Board of Forestry at their March meeting, there will be no local fire grants available for a minimum of five years because money generated will be used to administer this new program.
Also, Flagg said, many landowners in the State Responsibility Area have already agreed to assess themselves for fire protection and prevention services. Therefore, imposing an SRA fee effectively taxes people twice without any additional benefit.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
