On November 3, 2020, voters in Contra Costa County approved Measure X, a Countywide, 20-year, half-cent sales tax. The ballot measure language stated the intent of Measure X is “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.”
On November 16, 2021, the Board of Supervisors adopted a Measure X expenditure plan that included allocating annual funding of $9.0 million through June 30, 2024, for the provision of fire protection services. An annual allocation of $3.5 million was allocated to CCCFPD to support the operational costs related to the annexation of ECCFPD and the reopening of CCCFPD’s Fire Station 54 in the City of Brentwood. An annual allocation of $3.5 million has been allocated to CCCFPD to staff and reopen CCCFPD’s Fire Station 81 in the City of Antioch, which is within CCCFPD’s current service area. An annual amount of $2.0 million has been allocated to support the provision of fire protection services by CCCFPD to the City of Pinole, including the reopening of Pinole’s Fire Station 74, provided the parties enter into a fire protection service agreement. The potential fire protection service agreement between CCCFPD and the City of Pinole is still under negotiation and has the initial term ending June 30, 2028, with a provision for a 5-year extension.
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt the attached resolution to allocate Measure X funds through June 30, 2028, for the provision of fire protection services by CCCFPD within the former ECCFPD service area and within the cities of Antioch and Pinole. If the agreement with the City of Pinole is extended, the Board of Supervisors may allocate additional funds over the life of the extended agreement. The recommended allocation of Measure X funds for fire protection services includes an annual adjustment to offset increases in the operating costs of the funded programs. It is recommended that, beginning with Fiscal Year 2023/24, the allocations be adjusted annually by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Area for the twelve-month period ending with the February index of the calendar year in which the adjustment is made, but not to exceed 4 percent per year.
An allocation of Measure X funds beyond FY 2023/24 would not be made which would result in an increased level of uncertainty in long-term fiscal planning.
Speakers: Caller 6770; Jan Warren; No name given;
ADOPTED Resolution No. 2022/332, allocating Measure X funds to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District through June 30, 2028, for the provision of fire protection services within the service area of the former East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and within the cities of Antioch and Pinole; and DIRECTED that staff will have flexibility to negotiate any final language changes with the city of Pinole on this issue.