By Jim Reece -

Ione City Manager Kim Kerr gave a presentation on the Measure M half-cent sales initiative last week, which would pay full-time firefighters in Amador County. “Whether this passes or not, the city of Ione will be looking at getting a paid fire department,” Kerr said. The department, she said, would consist of one full-time firefighter, on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Kerr last week said Ione has 60 calls a month, 720 calls a year, with 70 percent of those medical emergencies. Kerr said volunteer firefighters must be EMT certified and current, hence Ione’s 35 volunteers are employed at various fire departments. If they work outside the county, it is hard for them to respond on work days. The Amador Fire Protection Authority formed in 2003 to help create paid county firefighting. AFPA estimated county fire coverage would cost 2.4 million for personnel alone. That would give 50,000 dollars to each city and divide the rest based on call volume and population. Call history would give Ione 24,000 dollars for 10 percent of the county’s fire calls. But Kerr said that Ione actually should get 20 percent, as about half of Ione’s calls are routed through a Camino dispatcher. Local calls to the firehouse are not routed through Camino and not counted. Kerr said that would change, increasing Ione’s expected cut in the Measue M funding.

Part of the AFPA vision is the Tax Force Plan Implementation. Kerr said the “biggest thing we could do is to not have duplicate service.” She said one option for Ione would be a 24-7 firefighter, shared with the Jackson Valley Fire District. The on-duty firefighter could split time three days a week at Ione’s station, and four days a week at Jackson Valley’s station, then switch the following week. The on-duty person would do required maintenance and give 24-hour coverage. City Councilman Lee Ard said with full-time coverage, there was a good chance insurance rates would go down for Ione residents. “This is a use tax,” Ard said. “All visitors pay sales tax, so this is one way for us to bring those tax dollars back down to work for Ione.”