Property owners within the Crescent Fire Protection District will see ballots in the mail as soon as this weekend for a tax assessment officials say is necessary to keep the department operating at its current level of service.
This is the fire district’s second attempt at passing a benefit assessment, Chief Bill Gillespie told the
Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday. An October effort to get voters to approve a $74 property tax assessment failed by about 23 votes, he said. That effort, and the current one, is intended replace an $18 assessment for the Crescent Fire Protection District that sunsets at the end of the year, Gillespie said.
Faced with a dramatic decline in revenue, the Crescent Fire Protection District is preparing to submit a funding measure to ask what level of service residents want.
Seeking public input on what the district is proposing, Fire Chief Bill Gillespie will be holding an informational meeting April 14 to discuss the proposed assessment. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The link to the meeting will be posted on the district’s website: cfpd.crescentcity.org or call 464-2421 for more information.
âThe goal of this assessment is to maintain and improve the level of service to the community and to support a reliable and effective volunteer organization for years to come,â said Gillespie.
Crescent City is planning to use Measure S funds to make major improvements to the fire department, including hiring more full-time employees.
In a special workshop meeting Monday, Fire Chief Bill Gillespie and City Manager Eric Weir presented the fire departmentâs needs and goals to the Measure S Oversight Committee and the city council. They recommended using 25% of the projected Measure S revenue, or $325,000, to add more full-time positions, implement a âsleeperâ program, expand volunteer recruitment and incentives, as well as fund maintenance of equipment. Measure S is a one-cent sales tax projected to bring in $1.3 million in revenue.Â
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