Staff Report 4.1

Analysis 

At the request of subject agencies, staff has prepared a Municipal Service Review (MSR) and Sphere of Influence study for:  

• The Kenwood Fire Protection District (“Kenwood FPD”)
• The Glen Ellen Fire Protection District (“Glen Ellen FPD”)
• The Valley of the Moon Fire Protection District (“Valley of the Moon FPD”)
• The Schell-Vista Fire Protection District (“Schell-Vista FPD”)
• The City of Sonoma (for fire and emergency medical service provision only)
• The portion of County Service Area No. 40  (Fire Services)  (CSA 40) that is served by the Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department (“Mayacamas  VFD”)
• The portion of County Service Area No. 40 (Fire Services) that is designated as Incident Response Plan Area 31-75 (“IRP 31-75”)
 

 Staff has distributed a Public Review Draft of the study to affected agencies and interested parties and has provided notice of this public hearing.  

The study reviews the operations of the agencies, governance, ability to provide services, and opportunities for shared services with other fire and emergency service agencies in the region, and concludes that an amendment to the spheres of influence of the agencies is warranted.  

Staff requests that the Commission conduct a public hearing to receive testimony regarding the  study then consider adoption of the study’s determinations and approval of the sphere of influence amendments.  

Background  

The portion of Sonoma County denoted as Region 3 by fire and emergency service agencies comprises four districts, one city, and one volunteer fire department.  

Agencies in the region have been contemplating reorganization and consolidation opportunities for some time, as part of a broad County-wide effort to reorganize fire and emergency services, and to develop a sustainable funding model for the future.   

Additionally, three of the agencies have been operating under a contractual arrangement whereby Valley of the Moon FPD, operating as the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority, provides service to the City of Sonoma and Glen Ellen FPD.  

Although not all of the agencies are prepared to consider a regional reorganization at this time, three districts and the portions of CSA 40 intend to seek reorganization with a goal of completion by mid-2020. It is therefore necessary to consider a sphere of influence amendment that would enable the proposed reorganization and further proposals that might be considered within the next five or so years.  

Municipal Service Review  

Staff has prepared a Municipal Service Review (MSR) of the subject agencies, addressing all of the subject areas required in LAFCO enabling legislation.  

The MSR includes a set of summary determinations related to general conditions in the Region as well as a series of determinations for each of the subject agencies.  

The summary findings of the Municipal Service Review are that the agencies are generally functioning well, with some challenges to ongoing sustainability. In summary:  

• Valley of the Moon FPD, which provides contracted services to the City of Sonoma and Glen Ellen FPD, as well as Advanced Life Support services to the majority of the Region, has obtained grant funding that will maintain appropriate engine staffing for the ensuing three years but does not have sustainable funding for that service level beyond that timeframe.
• The City of Sonoma (“City”) has had an eighteen-year contractual arrangement with Valley of the Moon FPD for service provision. While the contract is sustainable, the City might consider entering into a formal reorganization that would “cede” service provision to a regional agency.
• Glen Ellen FPD has also entered into a contract for services from Valley of the Moon and has sufficient funding for the contract for the foreseeable future. Glen Ellen (under the auspices of Valley of the Moon) will need to address service provision for the Sonoma Developmental Center campus as it transitions from State ownership to new ownership and uses.
• Kenwood FPD is struggling with staffing due to the lack of availability of volunteers during weekday daytime hours. Additionally, the Kenwood fire house is in need of improvements, including additional sleeping quarters and improvements/additions to the engine bay.
• The Mayacamas VFD is an entirely volunteer department, with some financial and administrative support from North Bay Fire, a contractor to the County. That contract is slated to expire within two years, and the County is actively seeking to “cede” territory to fire protection districts, essentially moving towards dissolution of CSA 40. Beyond that circumstance, the fundamental challenge for Mayacamas VFD is maintaining a volunteer force, particularly in light of the extent of damage within the territory from the 2017 fire disaster.
• Schell-Vista FPD recently received voter approval for a new parcel tax schedule that will provide sustainable funding for a recent increase to staffing levels.  
   

Financial Ability to Provide Services  

Of the eight areas of review required in a Municipal Service Review by the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act, evaluation of agency ability to provide services is perhaps most important.  

Two of the fire protection districts, Schell-Vista and Glen Ellen, have “solid” funding sources comprised of both property tax revenues and recently-approved parcel tax schedules. The City of Sonoma, while drawing on an array of funding sources, including a sales tax measure that is set to expire, is reasonably positioned to provide appropriate funding for fire and emergency medical services in the future.  

The two other fire protection districts, Valley of the Moon and Kenwood, do not have sufficient revenues to sustainably fund services (both have parcel tax schedules that are low in comparison to most districts in the County).  

The Mayacamas VFD territory generates modest property tax revenue that is devoted to fire services, although that revenue is compromised due to the impacts of the 2017 fire disaster. Imposition of a parcel tax on the territory would generate some modest additional revenue.  

Other MSR Evaluations  

In all other subject areas that the MSR covers, the subject agencies are providing appropriate service levels and operating in an efficient and effective manner.     

In particular, response times and staffing capability are generally adequate or better across the Region, other than volunteer staffing levels and availability (primarily at Kenwood and Mayacamas) and appropriate staffing levels for areas served by Valley of the Moon FPD (sustaining “3/0” staffing levels and maintaining Advanced Life Support services).  

Sphere of Influence Amendments  

The study recommends that the Commission approve Sphere of Influence (“SOI”) amendments for the subject agencies, extending the sphere for Glen Ellen FPD to cover the entirety of the Region.  

The SOIs of Kenwood, Valley of the Moon, and Schell-Vista FPDs would be set at “zero.” While the Commission has not considered a policy regarding setting “zero” spheres, the term can be defined as: a transitional designation indicating that the public service responsibility and functions of the agency should ultimately be abandoned or (in this case) reallocated to another government agency.)  

Similarly, the SOI for the City of Sonoma, solely with regard to fire and emergency medical service provision, would be set at “zero.”  

CSA 40 does have an adopted sphere of influence contiguous to its boundaries. The sphere of the County Service Area would be withdrawn from the Mayacamas area after a reorganization.  

Resolution  

Staff has prepared a draft resolution (attached) that includes the determinations from the study and further denotes approval of the recommended sphere of influence amendments.  

Environmental Determination  

Preparation of a Municipal Service Review consists largely of collection of data and research through reports and/or interviews with those knowledgeable about the agencies studied resulting in conclusions and, often, recommendations.  

When such activities “do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource,” the activity is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Section 15306 (Information Collection) of the State CEQA Guidelines.  

The proposed amendment to the sphere of influence of the Glen Ellen FPD is subject to CEQA. Staff has determined, however, that Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines applies. That section states:  

…CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. When it can be seen with certainty that there is not possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.  

The proposed amendment to the Glen Ellen SOI will place all territory within several districts and a portion of CSA 40 within the Glen Ellen FPD sphere and enable eventual annexation of that territory to the District.  

At this time, as a result of amendment of the sphere of Glen Ellen FPD, no impact on the environment is anticipated; thus there is no potential for adverse impacts.  

Recommendation 

Staff asks that the Commission conduct a public hearing to consider input regarding the Municipal Service Review and Sphere of Influence Study for Sonoma Valley Fire and Emergency Medical Service Agencies.

At the close of the hearing, staff recommends that the Commission discuss and determine whether to adopt the determinations of the study, and further, whether to approve the recommended amendments to the agencies’ spheres of influence. 

Alternate Recommendation 

The Commission could direct staff to amend study determinations and could also direct staff to amend the spheres of influence of agencies in a different fashion than the staff recommendation.

Attachments 

1. Municipal Service Review and Sphere of Influence Study for Sonoma Valley Fire and Emergency Service Agencies, Public Review Draft
2. Draft Resolution