LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Early indications are that voters have rejected a proposal for the Kelseyville Fire Protection District to create a new community services district and levy special taxes to build a new fire station.
Kelseyville Fire Chief Joe Huggins confirmed to Lake County News on Thursday that the district’s Measure A fire tax appears to have failed to get the support of voters.
Huggins said the election’s outcome won’t be finalized until the last tally takes place on Jan. 4.
The district hired MK Election Services LLC for election administration services, including sending out the ballots based on information provided by the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office.
The measure needed to pass by a two-thirds majority of the ballots returned.
In a letter to the Kelseyville Fire Board of Directors this week, Kenneth Mostern, principal of MK Election Services, reported results for the initial count that put the measure at well below the necessary two-thirds majority.
Of the 7,289 ballots mailed to voters on Nov. 8, only 2,145 were submitted for the selection, the letter said.
The letter to the fire board noted that due to a data processing error on the company's part, 1,177 ballots were sent to addresses of registration rather than mailing addresses, necessitating them to be mailed out again on Nov. 18.
Altogether, there were 998 “yes” votes and 1,134 “no” votes, with two blank ballots submitted and 11 ballots rejected, according to the report.
That tally means the measure received only 46% support, 21% below the approval threshold.
Earlier this year, the district began moving toward the formation of a community facilities district, holding meetings and hiring a consulting firm, CivicMic, to assist with the process.
The district proposed the action to enhance fire and emergency medical services, including building a new fire station in the Soda Bay corridor, specifically, the community of Buckingham.
To fund building the new fire station — at an estimated cost of $2.4 million, plus more than $1.2 million in annual staffing costs and $200,000 in annual debt service and administrative costs — the district proposed to levy special taxes for residents and business owners and authorize a $4 million bond issuance.
Regarding the amount of increases for residents, the information on current tax rates was not made available by CivicMic. When Lake County News contacted the firm for information, it was referred back to the company’s website, where current tax rates were not reported.
Ballots were mailed out in early November and were due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21.
While the county elections office handled aspects like signature matching, MK Election Services took care of other duties, including having a hotline for voters, authenticating ballots and conducting the official count, or canvass.
The letter to the fire district board said 150 ballots remain “at large” due to needing to have their signature matched, lacking a signature on the return envelope or because the signature doesn’t match one on record with the Registrar of Voters Office.
“MK Elections will return to Kelseyville to reopen the canvass on Jan. 4, 2022, to complete the tally and provide final certification of the count,” Mostern wrote. “In the meantime, the election record is being sealed and signed by the canvassers and left in the custody of the District.”
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