The Twentynine Palms City Council met in a special meeting last night to consider whether it should express its support for the Twentynine Palms Water District to transfer control of its Fire Department to San Bernardino County. The water district approved the annexation proposal August 5th. The Fire Department faces either another deficit budget or reduced services unless some change is made. If the fire department is transferred to the county, an annual fire protection fee, now at $80, would increase to $143.91, added to property tax bills. The fee would raise nearly $2.2 million in revenue for Twentynine Palms fire protection. County Fire Division Chief John Chamberlin provided an estimate of annual operating costs of just under $2.1 million. The surplus would be used for capital replacement build-ups. Turning the fire department over to the county must be approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission, which says it needs approval from all interested parties by September in order to meet the end of the fiscal year deadline of July 1, 2016. In addition, the fire department has to negotiate how it will pay for an unfunded pension liability and application fee by November. The Twentynine Palms Water District Board of Directors will meet next Wednesday, August 26, to consider a resolution to begin the annexation process with LAFCO. The city council voted 4-1 to approve the transfer with Council Member Cora Heiser voting no.
