In 2007, Santa Cruz County residents voted against a proposed tax hike to increase fire services. The next year, the county faced three major wildfires, and in 2009 there was the Lockheed fire, which covered 7,000 acres. Given these recent incidents, county officials are hoping that the public may be more willing to pay the cost of protecting its property.
The problem, say officials, is off-season service, which costs the county $3.8 million. Right now the county is only taking in $2.8 million, and has been forced to cut back on fire suppression services. Administrators have already cut back on staffing, and are no longer replacing older equipment. “There would have to be some tough decisions made,” says CalFire Deputy Chief Kathleen Lineberry, in the event that the tax hike is not approved. One of the chief threats is response times, which could increase significantly if there are more cutbacks. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
