Welcome to the Friends of Bonny Doon Fire website ! 

Friends supports the formation of a Bonny Doon Fire District.  

This website was built to provide the community with a means of accessing the reports, minutes of meetings and other documents that explain the complex issues surrounding the provision of Fire and Emergency Services to Bonny Doon. 

The Main area of this site is the called the LIBRARY.The LIBRARY has sections devoted to:

- Santa Cruz County Government

- LAFCO the Local Agency formation Commission

- Cal Fire the California Department of forestry and Fire Protection, aka CDF

- FDAC the Fire Department Advisory Commission

- The Santa Cruz Grand Jury- Proposition 172 Funds

- NEW Cell Phone Coverage Maps of Bonny Doon 

FEATURED ARTICLE

The best introduction to understanding the issues, jargon, and politics surrounding Fire Service in Bonny Doon is the 2007/08 Grand Jury Report titled What is County Fire, the link to which is in the Grand Jury section of our LIBRARY.  

While in the LIBRARY, check out the cell phone coverage (or lack of coverage) maps. 

We apologize for the constant changes to the website – we have had more restarts than men’s speed skating in the Vancouver Olympics – and are again reloading articles to the LIBRARY. 

We have still not figured out how the “Newsletter” feature works, so even if you sign up you WON’T receive a newsletter.  

 The Board of Supervisors authorized a proposal by County Fire “STAFF” to spend up to $30,000 for a “public opinion survey” to determine how to best obtain voter approval for an INCREASE in fire taxes or fees. 

While details on the need for a tax increase have been sketchy so far, the desired INCREASE in annual taxes has been stated to be $1,840,000. That would be an INCREASE of about $235 per year for the average homeowner served by County Fire, or a near TRIPLEING CSA 48 fees. 

Proponents keep talking about the large wild land fires of the past two years. While an important topic, those State Responsibility Fires have little to do with County Fire, which is funded and responsible for LOCAL fire services.  

The Lockheed Fire alone had an estimated STATE cost in excess of $26,000,000. The current proposal to increase our LOCAL taxes does not even begin to address the funding needs for large, STATE responsibility fires.  

The survey is intended to determine, among other things,

- The best time to place a measure on a ballot,

- The most effective message for educating the public about the need for a tax increase. 

It is claimed that the survey should help County Fire decide if a Registered Voter election would have a better chance for success than a Proposition 218 (property owner only) election. 

Educate the public? Better chance for success? This sounds more like a marketing plan for a predetermined goal than a survey of public opinion. The survey is to take place by telephone, and the results are expected in April. 

The voters turned-down a similar proposal in 2007. The amount of increase sought in 2007 was for a considerably smaller increase – “only” $809,000 per year. 

The proposal was passed 3 to 1; motion by Supervisor Leopold, second by Coonerty.  Stone absent, Campos opposed.

 Hold on to your wallets.

The fee increase recommended by County Fire on the January 26, 2010 agenda item 15, would, if accepted by the Board of Supervisors and ultimately approved by the electorate, increase fire taxes and fees by “$234 dollars for the majority of parcels within CSA 48 (parcels with a residence)”. The total additional revenue needed to fund County Fire is claimed to be (approximately) $ 1,840,000. 

A strikingly similar fee increase was proposed by County Fire in 2007, accepted by the Board of Supervisors, and ultimately REJECTED by the electorate. In 2007, the total additional revenue needed to fund County Fire was claimed to be (approximately)  $ 809,200. 

The question MUST be asked in earnest:  

How could $ 809,200 have beeen the correct and proper level of increase in funding needed in 2007, while, just over two years later, it is claimed  that fee increase must rise by AN ADDITIONAL  million dollars per year, to a total of a whopping $ 1,840,000?  

Was the 2007 amount grossly underestimated? Is the 2010 amount grossly overinflated? 

Will the Board of Supervisors accept the recommendation and begin the process for taking the proposed increase to the voters? 

Or will the recommendation be returned to County Fire “Staff” with directions to return when details and support are provided? 

Stay tuned for updates.   

Friends of Bonny Doon Fire supports the formation of an Independent Bonny Doon Fire District.

This site is currently being reorganized and repopulated.

The LIBRARY is in the process of being stocked with public documents – or links to public documents – concerning Fire and Rescue service in Santa Cruz County, and Bonny Doon’s quest to form an Independent Fire District. Documents are being organized by the agency that produced the document.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to develop this site.

Friends of Bonny Doon Fire supports the formation of an Independent Bonny Doon Fire District.