San Bernardino County Fire will be hosting Public Notice Hearings for the residents of San Bernardino County to discuss Measure W and Service Zone FP-5.
Residents in the Tri-Community are invited to attend the Pinion Hills/Phelan community meeting on February 2nd, from 5:00pm-7:00pm in the Phelan Community Building at 4176 Warbler Road in Phelan or at the Wrightwood community meeting on January 30th at 5:30pm-7:00pm in the Wrightwood Community Building at 1275 Hwy 2 in Wrightwood. The San Bernardino County Fire Chief will present information regarding Service Zone FP-5 and proposed Measure W, which will be on the ballot for the 2024 Election in March 2024.
WHAT IS FP-5?
Service Zone FP-5 was approved back in 2006 by voters in the Helendale & Silver Lakes area. Voters approved a special tax of $117 per parcel that helped to finance fire and emergency services within the FP-5 boundary, which only included a small area of just over 5 square miles. In 2008, the FP-5 special tax zone was expanded to incorporate other areas of San Bernardino County, and the boundaries continued to expand again in 2016 and 2018, which now covers the red zones located on the SBC Fire map www.sbcfire.org/fp5. More information on the findings & history of FP-5 can be found here.
WHAT IS MEASURE W?
The proposed Measure W will repeal this special tax on parcels in Service Zone FP-5 in order to stop government agencies from continually adding territory to the zones and impose the added tax on new parcels without voter approval. A YES vote for Measure W will repeal the tax, and a NO vote will keep the Service Zone FP-5 tax intact. Arguments against the measure present that a YES vote on Measure W will defund emergency services, close fire stations, increase paramedic response times, and raise fire insurance rates. Those in favor of the Measure say that a YES vote means less taxes for residents. It will also repeals tax disparities, where residents who own smaller single-dweller properties are expected to pay the same tax amount as larger properties (example: parcels owned by large businesses). More arguments and rebuttals for Measure W can be read online.
The upcoming public notice hearings will also present the different FP-5 service zones and the effects of Measure W passing. According to sbcfire.org/fp5, the North Desert Service Zone which includes all the communities in SBC District 1, may see closures from three of their ten fire stations along with a reduction of three fire engines and four paramedic ambulances.
Be sure to attend the Public Notice Hearing on either February 2nd or January 30th to learn more about Measure W and Service Zone FP-5.
