Task Force Asks Orinda City Council To Take Action On Fire District Services

A task force of Orinda residents is once again asking the City Council to take action against what the group perceives are inequities between what Orinda pays and what it receives in services from the Moraga-Orinda Fire District.

In a letter to the council, members of the Orinda Emergency Services Task Force say it's time to demand the fire district add services to the Orinda area and ask Moraga residents to pay more.

"Someone needs to stand up for Orinda’s taxpayers’ best interests and its residents’ safety," the letter states.

The letter adds that since the task force issued its last report, the fire district has hired a new chief and administrative services director. In addition, the majority of the district board has been replaced with new members.

The task force notes the district has also announced that it's depleted its general reserve fund and reduced the deficit in this year's budget from $1 million to $400,000.

One way the district did that was reducing its minimum daily staffing from 19 to 17 firefighters. The task force said both the positions cut came from Orinda stations.

In addition, district officials announced its pension liability had grown from $24 million to $45 million, the letter states.

Task force members say Orinda taxpayers are "subsiding service in Moraga to the tune of $2 million per year."

In a new report, the task force recommends that Moraga residents be asked to pay more for fire protection services.

In addition, task force members ask that extra service be provided to the Orinda Downs and Sleepy Hollow neighborhoods, which the report states have response times in excess of six minutes.

The task force also asks a vegetation fuel reduction plan be introduced in north Orinda and more than two dozen substandard fire hydrants in the city be upgraded.

Moraga-Orinda Fire District Chief Stephen Healy said he agrees with some areas of the report.

He said there is a need for more fire prevention and the district is working on that. He also said the personnel expenses mentioned in the report are the district's main challenge right now.

Healy said he respects the work of the task force and commends them for bringing issues to the community's attention.

However, he said he doesn't think there is a disparity between service and what Orinda and Moraga residents pay.

"The district fundamentally disagrees with that," Healy said.

He added Orinda still has nine firefighters and a battalion chief assigned to it while Moraga has eight firefighters.

He said the reduction in staff has so far had only a minor impact on service in both communities.

In addition, Orinda has three ambulances stationed in its city while Moraga has one.

He added both Orinda Mayor Sue Severson and Councilwoman Victoria Smith are liaisons to the fire district and are in constant communication.

Severson said the issues in the report has been discussed in years past.

"This is not a new suggestion. This has been a concern of the task force for awhile," said Severson.

She commended the task force for its diligent work, but she noted that trying to quantify service can be a tricky subject.

"There are different ways to look at that," she said.

She said the council at any time can bring up the matter of Orinda's payments to the fire district, but she feels the liaison committee set up now does an adequate job of communicating concerns.