The Hollister Fire Department is set to serve not just the city, but all of San Benito County for the next seven years.
With a 4-1 vote at the Nov. 5 meeting, the Hollister City Council approved a seven-year contract for the fire department to provide services to the county. The county will pay $1.84 million for the first year starting on Jan.1, 2019, with the cost increasing 3 percent each year.
The months-long negotiation also resulted in three automatic renewals of one year each as well as purchases of a type 1 and type 3 engine and an off-road water tender, City Manager Bill Avera said.
The previous contract expired Oct. 1 and services were being provided on a monthly basis.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez urged the council to wait for a full financial report before deciding on the contract and possibly finding itself financially burdened in the future, while Councilman Karson Klauer, with support from the other councilmembers, argued the report already existed and although the contract is not perfect, he didn’t see a better option.
Velazquez told BenitoLink that he wanted to see breakdown of costs per fire station in order to gain a better understanding of the finances so no misunderstandings or problems arise in the future. He added the current report states the fire services needs and options.
“The county will never be able to pay how much it actually costs for us to provide this service,” Klauer said during the council meeting. “It’s not perfect. It hasn’t been perfect.”
Klauer added that the better option in the report is to create a special fire district. However, the only way to set it up is through additional taxes.
“You have to look at what’s a possibility,” Klauer said. “What’s the likelihood of actually being able to provide this service.”
The creation of a fire services district has been discussed among different government representatives over the years. In 2016 during a San Benito County Fire Advisory Committee meeting, county and city officials agreed that a special district was the best option.
At the Nov. 5 meeting Velazquez said he wasn’t against the partnership or providing the services. His concern was verifying the city could cover the cost and making the shared costs between San Benito County, Hollister, and San Juan Bautista as fair as possible.
Councilwoman Carol Lenoir pointed out the county is now paying for services that it was getting for free.
Lenoir told BenitoLink she was referring to the mutual aid agreement where the city would respond to county calls without billing the county.
“That was a great cost to the city, so now the county is paying their fair share for those calls,” Lenoir said. “I don’t want to lose the SAFER grant, because I think we need the added personnel.”
Fire Chief Bob Martin Del Campo said because the $2.5 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant was written to include San Juan Bautista, San Benito County and Hollister, the department could not accept the funds if the contract doesn’t pass.
The grant would allow the fire department to hire nine full-time firefighters. The department currently has 32 firefighters that cover San Benito County.
Velazquez verified with Del Campo that the SAFER grant was for two years and the city would be fiscally responsible for the additional nine firefighters after that.
“We are going to be carrying a larger burden as soon as the SAFER grant runs out,” Velazquez said. “We will be carrying that full load and it’s going to be very expensive.”
Del Campo said the grant was for two years, but because the shared cost was in tiers, the city would assume 25 percent of the total cost by the end of the grant.
Another grant that might be affected, Del Campo said, was the training facility grant for $3 million.
San Benito County Supervisor Mark Medina spoke during public comment and, primarily addressing Velazquez and said the councilmembers could think for themselves, that the numbers have been available for over a year and that it should not be dragged out any longer, whether the city accepts the contract or not.
“What is different?” Medina asked. “Are you going to wake up tomorrow and the numbers are going to change? You’ve had these numbers. You’re job is to look at these numbers and analyze it.”
Councilwoman Mickie Luna responded to Velazquez’s multiple statements that the council needed to understand the numbers before making a decision.
“We have a mind of our own,” Luna said. “We study before we come up here and make decisions because we know the impact it has on our community. For the mayor to sit here and say that he wants to make sure we understand, I can tell you, Mr. Mayor, I understand, I read, I can understand.”
The contract is scheduled to be voted on by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors at its Nov. 20 meeting.
The Hollister City Council delayed its vote on the contract for fire services for San Juan Bautista until Nov. 19 because an attachment was missing from the contract provided to council members.