Southern Marin Fire Set to Take Over Sausalito by July 1

Voters easily approved a controversial proposal to transfer the city of Sausalito's fire services to the in Tuesday's primary election and district officials aren’t wasting any time in making the transition official.

District Fire Chief Jim Irving said Wednesday that the annexation of Sausalito fire services should be implemented by July 1. The district has managed the city's fire services since 2006, but 15 firefighters had remained Sausalito city employees. Those firefighters will become district employees, bumping its payroll to 52 employees, Irving said.

Sixty-three percent of Sausalito voters approved , which serves parts of unincorporated Mill Valley, as well as Strawberry and a small portion of Tiburon.

Irving said that while the annexation won’t have any day-to-day impact on fire service for residents of unincorporated Mill Valley and Strawberry, they will see some benefits to the change.

“It allows us to have a better grasp on what our future is so we can do more long-range planning,” he said. “It also gives a lot of staff time back in terms of managing two separate budgets and payrolls and that sort of thing.”

That savings in staff time will allow the district to do more community outreach on issues like fire prevention and vegetation management, Irving said.

“There will definitely be a benefit for our residents,” he said.

Tuesday’s election resolves an issue that had been the subject of , including a that placed the matter on the ballot.

Under the annexation, 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.

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.

Opponents had warned that the annexation would be permanent and that the city would be locked in to sending 45 percent of its property tax revenue to the district.

Measure D supporters said annexation saves Sausalito $184,000 in its 2012-13 budget, and that the city would still have 50 firefighters and paramedics staffing its three fire stations.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report.