New North Sonoma Coast fire district sues county in closely watched tax dispute

The newest fire district in Sonoma County was formed last year and grew out of a yearslong dispute over tax money that Sea Ranch fire officials wanted to keep for services in their community.

The North Sonoma Coast Fire Protection District, forged in a merger of Sea Ranch and Annapolis volunteer fire companies, is the latest test case for consolidation of departments, seen as one of the main ways to reform the county’s jumbled network of fire agencies.

It is the first new district formed from volunteer companies in 20 years, with responsibility for emergency calls over 172 square miles of rugged terrain in the northwestern corner of the county. And so far, it appears to be a success.

“We are way better off out here than we were before. More of our funds are staying in the area. We’re able to manage our own destiny, that’s the biggest thing,” said North Sonoma Coast volunteer Fire Chief Bonnie Plakos.

The independent district now has control of property tax revenue designated for fire protection from its region. Its advantage from the start was a wealthy tax base in The Sea Ranch, the upscale, planned coastal village on Highway 1 south of the Sonoma-Mendocino county line. Forty years ago, residents there voted to tax themselves at a higher rate to support a more robust level of fire protection.

For years, however, the area’s $2.1 million annual fire funding from property taxes was greatly reduced through other obligations - about $1 million to a mandated state education fund and $300,000 diverted to the county’s fire services department and the volunteer fire companies.

One key benefit of the pullout from the county: the North Sonoma Coast fire now is able to keep the $300,000. District officials are seeking to reduce the larger state payout through a lawsuit.

The district’s budget, now at $2.3 million with the addition of the Annapolis area, has allowed it to purchase a new rescue truck - the first new fire vehicle for the area since 2009. Next up will be a new water tender. The district has 16 volunteers, with about half responding actively to calls. Those volunteers reflect the area’s year-round residents, who tend to be of retirement age. One new recruit is 72. The district had 299 calls in 2016, the vast majority occurred in The Sea Ranch and 66 happened in the Annapolis and Kashia areas.

But the area’s main firefighting force comes from a round-the-clock staffed Cal Fire station, an added layer of services supported by the higher taxes.

The new district formed amid the prolonged conflict between Sea Ranch fire officials and the county over tax money that the community has forked over for years to the state education fund. Sea Ranch officials contend they have been required to pay at a higher rate into that fund than other local fire entities.

In January, the North Sonoma Coast district sued the county, seeking a court order to reduce the mandatory payment to the state fund, which at nearly $1 million is equal to almost half of the region’s tax-supported firefighting funds.

Sea Ranch officials believe the county’s calculation has been wrong, pointing to other fire agencies in the county that were required to hand over far less, including several which pay nothing.

“How in the world can you justify it? It’s three times the amount” of the next highest-paying fire agency, said Don McMahan, a former Sea Ranch volunteer and current fire district chair. “It’s way out of whack.”

County officials say the calculation was accurate. Debbie Latham, the chief deputy counsel for Sonoma County, said the rate, set by the county Auditor-Controller’s Office, follows state guidelines.

“We’ve double-checked it to make sure,” Latham said.

The two sides have met multiple times for years on the issue, always ending in a stalemate.

“We filed a suit to force the discussion,” McMahan said.

Sea Ranch has long been interested in breaking from the county’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, which oversees the county’s volunteer fire companies.

There’s always been strong firefighting support in the retirement and vacation home community because of its remote location, McMahan noted.

Sea Ranch took steps to separate its volunteer company several years ago, planning from the start to scoop up the sparsely populated Annapolis volunteer company as the most realistic plan for an area fire district, Plakos said.

It’s been a year since the merger, and both sides say it’s working well.

“The independence is great. It’s so much better because Annapolis actually has support,” said Chris Aitchison, the assistant district chief. A volunteer for Annapolis prior to the consolidation, Aitchison said the community had little support from the county, due in large part to the remote location. Now the three Annapolis volunteers work closely with Sea Ranch and Cal Fire. “We all train together, work more closely together. We’re one big group,” he said.

Their lawsuit, closely watched by fire officials around the county because of its potential implications for their budgets, is set for a first court appearance on April 5.

At the very least, North Sonoma Coast fire officials hope to get the state-mandated payment halved, saving about $500,000 for the fire district annually.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.