HERCULES — Facing an uncertain economic future, officials with the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District have begun pursuing incorporation with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, but not all residents are sold on the thought.
At two recent town hall meetings to deal with the difficulty, officials warned that RHFD's long-term financial health doesn’t look good: Expenses are expected to exceed revenues inside the subsequent decade and the district may have to make up hundreds of thousands in unfunded pension liabilities.
Four options are being considered: maintaining the establishment while cutting services, securing additional funding, outsourcing services or annexation, RHFD Fire Chief Rebecca Ramirez, ConFire Chief Lewis Broschard and Michael Despain, a former fire chief who advises the district on the difficulty, said on the June town hall meeting.
District residents have been surveyed on these issues over the past few weeks, and the outcomes of that survey will likely be reviewed by the RHFD Board of Directors during a special meeting on July 10. Some participants at each town hall meetings called the survey biased and the leading questions designed to advertise a ConFire takeover.
Of the 4 options available to the district, maintaining the establishment would likely force the department to shut a fireplace station because no additional funding source has been found, Chief Ramirez said. The deeper the district gets into financial trouble, the less likely it’s that an outdoor agency will wish to annex the world.
The district is predicted to generate $10 million to $12.3 million in revenue between 2024 and 2030, while spending $10 million to $13.3 million in the course of the same period, officials said. RHFD has only $7 million in reserves and about $12 million in unfunded pension liabilities.
Even with some revenue increases, akin to a money injection within the event of an economic recovery or the completion of the Hercules Hub – a project that can bring 1,400 housing units, 31,800 square meters of office space and recent multimodal connections to the region – the cash may not be enough to cover costs, Ramirez said.
“There could be an increase in revenue in the coming years. The problem is we don't have years left,” Ramirez said in the course of the first town hall meeting held in Hercules on June 18. “I'm afraid that even if we raise an additional $1.5 million, we wouldn't be able to provide the service that ConFire provides.”
Despain said the choice of outsourcing services is off the table after the county made inquiries and received no interest from other agencies. He noted that outsourcing could be “dangerous” for the agency providing the services because it might be left with employees after the contract ends and no revenue to cover those costs.
That leaves just one likely end result: the dissolution of the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District and its merger with ConFire. The agency has existed since 1937 and was then called the Rodeo Fire District. Hercules was annexed within the late Nineteen Seventies when the population in the town known for its dynamite plant began to blow up. ConFire, the county's largest fire department, provides fire services primarily in Central and East Contra Costa, but in addition has fire stations in West County.
Ramirez said annexation could occur as soon as a yr from now if decisions are made at a gentle pace. During the July 10 meeting, the fireplace district board could ask staff to return with a proposal for annexation to be voted on soon after, and Broschard could bring the same proposal to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, which has oversight of ConFire.
The Local Agency Formation Commission would then review the proposal, a process that takes between three and 4 months, Ramirez said. If LAFCO approves, a transition process would begin with input from Ramirez and Broschard.
Should incorporation occur, Broschard assured the general public that funds from Measure O, a property tax approved by RHFD voters in 2016 to support the county's two fire stations, would proceed for use for those stations. He said existing ConFire staff will help reduce costs and reserves will likely be used to pay down unfunded liabilities.
“It's important for you to understand that you're still getting the most efficient, fastest and safest first aid, with three firefighters from stations 75 and 76 and one paramedic on each of those fire engine or truck companies. That's our minimum at ConFire,” Broschard said.
Not everyone was convinced. Maureen Brennan and Frank Grimsley, each members of the Measure O Oversight Committee, questioned why the difficulty was not put to voters.
“I don't want to be annexed. I don't think that's necessary. I think our fire district has made a tremendous turnaround since 2016,” Brennan said, adding that she is going to push for the difficulty to be put to a public vote when the board discusses it on July 10.
Former RHFD Fire Chief Pedro Jimenez also raised questions on annexation, and a few speakers called for more data before a final decision might be made. Speakers at each town hall meetings also expressed concerns that Rodeo and Hercules residents could be neglected under ConFire's leadership, since oversight of the district is handled by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors.
Others, nevertheless, seemed convinced about annexation. Tanya Little, a 32-year-old Hercules resident, said she has been researching and dealing on the difficulty since 2021 and is ultimately convinced that annexation is best for the community.
Sarah Creeley, a teacher at Hanna Ranch Elementary School, said she opposed dissolving the district until she realized what a “broad range of experiences” residents would have in a bigger organization.
RHFD Captain Jonathan Bischoff, who has worked for the agency for 25 years, said nearly all of the district's 16 crew members support the annexation and the extra support it would supply.
“Whether it's Rodeo-Hercules or Contra Costa County Fire Protection, we're still our community. And I want you to know that, because we take this seriously,” Bischoff said. “We use wire and tape, we fake everything. We make it look easy, but it's not. ConFire has one big umbrella and ten more waiting for it if this one breaks.”
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