The once opaque and long-running deliberation about the future of emergency medical and fire services in Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) became demystified in June with the creation of a new governing model.
By June 13, the cities of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach chose members from its respective city councils to appoint to a four-person Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) board.
Arroyo Grande Mayor Caren Ray Russom and City Councilmember Kristen Barneich and Grover Beach City Councilmembers Daniel Rushing and Clint Weirick are the new board members. From this pool, a board chair and vice chair will be appointed from each city.
The updated FCFA board makeup is a marked change from the previous iteration of the board, which was a three-member panel made up of a representative from the two cities and the OCSD.
FCFA leadership also gained an executive management structure made up of the Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach city managers. They will be responsible for oversight of the Fire Authority. FCFA Fire Chief Steve Lieberman will report to the management committee, which will also hire future fire chiefs. The city manager hailing from the same city as the board chair will act as the chief executive officer.
At the June 13 Arroyo Grande City Council meeting, City Councilmember Lan George said that continuing to provide FCFA services has been “really unsettling for our entire community, and to see us get to this point is really incredible.”
Together, the new FCFA leaders will preside over a reinstated joint powers authority agreement that lays out the rules for fire services for the South County members. Already plagued by financial constraints and understaffing in its fire stations, the FCFA has been on unstable footing since the OCSD stopped being a member after voters failed to pass a special tax that could have funded its share of contributions for fire services.
With the OCSD’s impending exit on June 30, the cities hired outside consultant Baker Tilly, which recently provided an analysis of issues. Its biggest finding was that more funding is needed for firefighters to continue providing services to FCFA member agencies.
The OCSD has already applied to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to relieve itself of providing fire and medical assistance to the community effective July 1. It’s hoping San Luis Obispo County will step in to take over those services. But until then, the OCSD needs interim fire services and looked to the two cities for help.
By June 13, after a short negotiation process, both Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande agreed to a draft contract that would span 12 months. During that time, the OCSD will pay $1.5 million for contracted services using property tax revenue. The FCFA would provide services from its fire stations in the two cities given that the Oceano station isn’t up to functioning order.
The new iteration of the FCFA will have Grover Beach pay 42 percent of the costs while Arroyo Grande foots 58 percent of it. The new FCFA board will formally meet for the first time on June 22. Δ
This article appears in Jun 22 – Jul 2, 2023.