Fire Dept. Annexation Battle Heads to Ballot

Sausalito voters will decide on June 5 whether they want to the city to be annexed into the .

The district has managed the city's fire services since 2006, but 15 firefighters remain Sausalito city employees.

The City Council approved the merger by a 3-2 vote in September, and the .

But opponents, including Councilwoman Linda Pfeifer, circulated petitions and collected enough signatures to put the merger issue before voters.

The district, which serves parts of unincorporated Mill Valley, as well as Strawberry and a small portion of Tiburon, has managed and operated the Sausalito Fire Department for eight years under a contract for service. The district and some city officials have pushed for a merger in recent years, saying it makes sense from an operations standpoint and saves the city some $600,000 in property tax revenue annually.

If Measure D is approved, Sausalito's fire services will be transferred fully to the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. Sausalito will contribute $2.7 million of its property tax revenue to the district during fiscal year 2012-13, and 45 percent of its property tax revenue in subsequent years.

If the measure passes, Sausalito residents would be eligible to vote in the fire protection district's elections and run for a seat on the district's board of directors.

There are no new taxes or assessments proposed in Measure D, which requires a majority vote for approval.

Sausalito would still own its newly constructed fire station and lease most of its space to the fire protection district for $100,000 annually. Ownership of the city's fire trucks and equipment would be transferred to the fire protection district.

Proponents of Measure D include Mayor Mike Kelly, former Mayor Carol Singer Peltz and former Councilman Leon Hunting. They say the city would still have 50 firefighters and paramedics staffing three fire stations. If Sausalito re-established its own fire department, they said, a maximum of five firefighters would be on duty at one time, requiring calls for aid from outside agencies.

Proponents argue that reverting to a Sausalito Fire Department would add $1.4 million to the city's budget and lead to massive cuts to services.

They point out that property tax allocations for fire protection would be reduced from 55 percent to 45 percent if Measure D is approved, saving an estimated $184,000 in the 2012-13 budget.

Opponents of Measure D include Pfeifer and Carolyn Ford, and Sausalito Planning Commissioner Joan Cox. They argue that since the annexation is permanent, the city could be sending 45 percent of its tax revenue to the Southern Marin Fire Protection District forever, even if a lower-cost alternative is identified.

Opponents say in their argument that no other city in Marin County has totally given up control of its fire services, and that Mill Valley has twice rejected being annexed into the district.

Sausalito voters, who would comprise 26 percent of the population of the fire protection district, would not have enough votes to defeat a new fire protection district parcel tax, opponents say.

They have called for the City Council to conduct an independent analysis of all available options for meeting firefighting and emergency medical service needs.

--Bay City News Service