Ventura County and Santa Paula have come up with a draft proposal for the county to take over fire protection services for the city.
The city has been looking at ways to assure the long term viability of fire protection for the city, with city officials concerned about personnel costs and needed infrastructure improvements. By folding its department into the county’s, there would be benefits through the scale of being part of a larger agency.
The proposal calls for the city to permanently turn over nearly 80% of its property tax revenue to the fire protection district, plus some land, and the city department’s current assets. The plan calls for the county department to build two new fire stations in the city.
The nearly 100 page deal still needs to be approved by the Santa Paula City Council and Ventura County Supervisors, but both are expected to give their approval. Santa Paula firefighters support the effort.
