Napa County May Consider Fire Sales Tax In 2022
Atlas Fire, October 2017. Photo by Kerana Todorov
Napa County voters may consider a new quarter-cent sales tax on the June 2022 ballot for 10 years to fund wildfire prevention programs such as fuel breaks and brush removal.
The Napa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to explore the placement of the tax proposal on the ballot to fund long-term fire prevention measures estimated to cost $42.4 million over the next five years. The supervisors’ vote to explore a possible sales tax was unanimous.
“We need a sustainable funding stream to keep our community safe,” said Alfredo Pedroza, who chairs the Board of Supervisors.
After hearing from Cal Fire, Napa County will forego an offer from a private group to base two water-dropping Fire Boss planes here this fire season for early wildfire response.
Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture offered to pay $1.5 million to lease the planes and crew from Dauntless Air. But in the face of Cal Fire opposition, the Napa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected the offer for now.
âThis is an awkward spot for us, because we have people offering an incredibly generous offer, but we donât personally do the firefighting and our firefighters are saying, Not so fast, â county Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht said.
Napa County jumpstarts fire season preparation with $6.4M
Napa County has allocated $6.4 million to jump start fire prevention efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable communities.
NAPA, Calif. - Napa County has allocated $6.4 million to jump start fire prevention efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable communities.
On Wednesday, fuel reduction crews were clearing hazardous vegetation from the Circle Oaks neighborhood near Atlas Peak. Heavy brush surrounds roughly 200 homes in the subdivision. Napa County Fire Chief Geoff Belyea said the crews created a shaded fuel break to help firefighters should a fire break out in the coming months. We re leaving the bulk of the mature trees and we re taking all the fuels out around them… so it makes the fire behavior less intense, Belyea said.
Page A1 | Napa Valley Register E-Edition | napavalleyregister com napavalleyregister.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from napavalleyregister.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.