It appears San Bernardino County residents may be paying an extra $157 on their property taxes this fall for the expansion of Fire Protection Zone 5. On Tuesday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez ruled against a request—filed by the Red Brennan Group, which was protesting the fire fee—for a preliminary injunction to stop the county from collecting the fee. Managing editor Tami Roleff says the judge denied the injunction on three grounds…
Judge Donald Alvarez denied the Red Brennan Group’s request for an injunction to halt the collection of the $157 annual fire fee on three grounds. The judge said the plaintiffs did not “adequately explain why” the county could not annex the 19,000 square miles of county land. The judge also ruled that the state constitution has a “pay now, litigate later” clause, in which the tax must be paid first before a lawsuit can be brought to stop the tax levy. And the third point was based on a technicality; the judge said the Red Brennan Group was supposed to notify the public that it was suing the Fire Department 60 days before it filed the lawsuit. However, the judge also noted the Red Brennan Group could circumvent this requirement by showing “good cause.”
