LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire Protection District Board is exploring different approaches to getting its budget on track, including tightening up on expenses, and considering property and equipment sales, while preparing for this spring’s parcel tax election.
The board held its regular meeting on Tuesday evening at the district’s downtown fire station.
In recent months, the board has welcomed two new members: Alan Flora, who is the assistant city manager and finance director for Clearlake, and Bill Gabe, a retired Lakeport Fire lieutenant and high school and college teacher. They join Chair John Whitehead and board members Randy Williams and Don Davidson, the latter who was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
The district also has a new interim chief, Rick Bergem, who succeeded Chief Doug Hutchison.
Bergem brings to the table decades of experience with the district. He told Lake County News that he has committed to serving as chief for a year before retiring. Taking the job allowed him to rehire one of the three firefighters the district laid off last year.
He’s received high praise from the members of the district’s professional firefighters’ union.
At Tuesday’s meeting, firefighter/paramedic Spencer Johnson, speaking on behalf of the union, thanked Bergem for his work as incident commander on fires and for the open and transparent communication with district personnel.
“It’s been a tremendous breath of fresh air that we've desperately needed,” Johnson said.
In the midst of responding to fires, meeting with other agencies’ chiefs and looking at ways to improve ambulance services for Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Bergem is overseeing the completion of a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant due later this month that aims to restore firefighter positions. He’s also looking at what surplus equipment the district can sell.
On Tuesday, Bergem presented to the board a 2019-20 strategic plan, which he explained is an overview of what he believes are priorities for this year. It’s divided into a list of monthly goals.
Tasks he’s working on include selecting a new full-time administrative assistant to succeed longtime staffer Linda Buckner, who is preparing to retire; hiring a new part-time administrative assistant; finalizing the FEMA SAFER grant; and beginning Measure M fire tax campaign activities ahead of the May 7 election.
The plan includes the recruitment for a new fire chief. Advertising will begin in July, the job application deadline and interviews are in August, a final selection is anticipated in September and the new chief is expected to start in October or November, after fire season.
Flora thanked Bergem for creating the document, and Whitehead said it will be put on an upcoming agenda to discuss it further.
The board also discussed preparation for Measure M, with staff explaining that all of the necessary paperwork has been submitted to the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
With the county in the midst of an ongoing recruitment process for the registrar’s job, Flora expressed concern about the county being able to handle the election. Buckner said she’d had repeated conversations with various county employees to ensure that everything is in order.
Flora has developed a five-year expenditure plan based on projections for what Measure M will bring in, starting at just over $1.2 million in year one and graduating to $1.3 million in year five. It’s meant to offer accountability for spending to voters.
Stabilizing the budget in the near term
While the district board hopes to bring in new revenue through Measure M, if the measure passes it will be close to a year before any of that new money comes in.
In the meantime, the board has to meet the district’s immediate and ongoing fiscal challenges.
Flora said they have been looking at a budget plan for the upcoming 2019-20 fiscal year, but haven’t made a lot of progress yet and are instead focusing on the current fiscal year.
“That's what really concerns me the most right now,” said Flora.
“It's going to take a lot of work, I think, to balance our budget by the end of this fiscal year,” Flora said, adding, “It’s extremely tight right now.”
Flora suggested the board take several immediate actions to address the budget situation.
The first is to have a discussion of the 2018-19 budget on every agenda through the end of the fiscal year.
“So ordered,” Whitehead said.
Flora said the board also needed to provide direction to the chief to not make any expenditures that aren’t critical through the end of the fiscal year and look at existing reserve balances for when there are critical needs.
He said it will be extremely difficult for the district to balance its budget, even with a FEMA reimbursement of about $248,000 for the River fire. They put $114,000 into the equipment reserve but Flora suggested they may need to use that elsewhere.
Bergem is looking at selling unneeded surplus equipment and Flora said they will need all the money they can get. “We're all going to have to get creative, I think.”
As of Tuesday, Flora said the district had a deficit in excess of $300,000. While it likely won’t be that bad by the end of the year, “We shouldn't assume that everything's going to work out fine,” he said.
District considering sale of Finley fire station
One possible action the district may take – which was first brought forward at a previous meeting – is the potential sale of the Finley fire station, which some board members are hesitant to pursue.
It hasn’t been used for a fire station in about 20 years, and is now used by the Clearlake Gleaners for its food program.
By the time of Tuesday’s meeting, Bergem said he hadn’t had a chance to speak with the Gleaners to see if the group is interested in purchasing the building. He said he can get an estimate of the cost for an appraisal.
However, Bergem also said he’s considering the potential benefits of putting the station back in service. Keeping a piece of fire equipment there could reduce the Insurance Service Office rating which could, in turn, improve homeowners insurance rates for area residents. He said the district also has three volunteers who live in the area and they could help take care of the boundary drop with Kelseyville Fire.
While there are concerns that a large fire truck may not fit in the building, one of the smaller type 2 units could, Bergem said.
Whitehead said he had spoken to the Gleaners previously and they indicated their interest in purchasing the building. However, he added that he and Davidson are reluctant to sell it right away, at least not until they have a new station – which could be made possible through the district’s grant-writing efforts. Williams said they also could use it for storage.
Buckner said they receive rent of $360 a month for the building, with $3,684 budgeted for rent last year. She said the rent increases 10 percent per year.
“I think it's good that we look at all options,” said Flora, noting that it doesn’t make sense to make a kneejerk, short-term decision that prompts the need to make another decision later.
Whitehead suggested they keep the Finley station discussion on future district agendas.
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Lakeport Fire Board plans for parcel tax measure, considers budget issues and possible property sale
- Elizabeth Larson
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