Proposal for Reorganization of the Gold Ridge and Monte Rio Fire Protection Districts

The Commission will be reviewing a proposal to reorganize the Gold Ridge and Monte Rio Fire Protection Districts involving dissolution of Monte Rio Fire and subsequent annexation of the District’s territory into Gold Ridge Fire.

If the reorganization is approved, all assets and liabilities of Monte Rio Fire will transfer to Gold Ridge Fire.

Gold Ridge has voter-approved special taxes (parcel taxes) that will be applied to Monte Rio after the reorganization. Gold Ridge’s taxes are higher than a parcel tax approved by Monte Rio residents.

The proposed action has been evaluated for compliance with the State of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and found to be exempt in that no new or different services are expected to be provided.

If the commission orders approval of the reorganization it will conduct a protest proceeding to gauge registered voter and landowner sentiment in the Monte Rio Fire territory. Depending on the outcome of the proceeding, the approval will stand, be vacated, or become subject to a referendum.

The Plan for Service, a document describing how the reorganized agencies will operate, is available.

The Commission is scheduled to conduct a hearing on this proposal at its Wednesday, March 5, 2025 meeting at or after 2:00 pm.  The Commission meeting will be held at Sonoma County Administration Building, 575 Administration Drive, Room 102A, Santa Rosa, California. Please see the Notice of Hearing for information on how to provide comment on this matter.