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During a hastily called special meeting on June 6, the Hollister City Council approved new proposals for fire protection services for San Benito County and San Juan Bautista.
The two proposals include essentially the same terms city officials put forward in March with the exception that they now run an additional year, for a four-year period, and can be terminated mutually if a new county fire district is formed.
The council’s move came ahead of June 9 budget hearings for the city and the county.
The proposals were approved on a 4-1 vote with Councilmember Dolores Morales dissenting.
Councilmembers varied in their comments, saying the terms would save firefighters jobs and that it could allow the jurisdictions to continue efforts to create a countywide fire district.
For San Benito County. the proposal includes a $1.1 million rate increase totaling $3.38 million beginning with the current fiscal year and includes a 3% annual increase through June 2029.
The terms also include a reimbursement of $400,000 for fire service-related expenses and reimbursement for ambulance services since 2019.
For San Juan Bautista, the proposed terms include a $150,000 rate increase totalling $418,279 with an 11% annual increase through the same period.
The annual increases are intended to account for annual inflation and equipment replacement, according to the agreements.
Both agreements include a minimum staffing of two firefighters for Station 3, located at the Hollister Municipal Airport, and at the San Juan Bautista fire station.
This clause was a major point of contention in March that led to San Juan Bautista rejecting the offer.
Both agreements can be terminated only for lack of payment.
The vote came after initial motions from Councilmember Rolan Resendiz to deny the proposal, and Morales to limit the proposed contracts to one year and add a minimum staffing of three firefighters per fire station failed to receive support. Both motions died for the lack of a second.
Stephens followed with a motion to add a minimum staffing of three firefighters per station but only received support from Councilmember Priscilla De Anda and a vote failed 3-2.
Following the meeting, Resendiz declined to explain why he originally supported denying the proposals and later voted to approve them.
Councilmember Rudy Picha said before the votes that he had an “uneasy feeling in my gut right now.”
Several members of the public spoke against the terms and urged the City Council to seek a higher rate for fire services. Some speakers urged cooperation between the jurisdictions
“No one is operating in the best interest of everyone else,” a speaker identified only as Kelly said. “It’s a little fiefdom from what I can tell. That’s not leadership.”
Hollister city officials claim the city is subsidizing fire services to the county and San Juan Bautista by a total of $4 million per year.
Both the city and the county are dealing with significant budget deficits.
Hollister is working to close a $4 million gap, after an estimated $6 million in projected savings from cutting vacant positions, and San Benito County is working to address a $10 million deficit.
The county began making moves aimed at creating its own fire department after failed negotiations with Hollister earlier this year.
Following disagreements over proposed rates and staffing levels, negotiations stopped in April.
At the same time, an effort among the three jurisdictions to conduct a fire district feasibility study also ended. A new countywide fire district was touted as the ultimate solution to the rising cost of fire services.
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