Letter from LFPD Board President JoAnne McLachlan

As President of the Board of Directors of the Lockwood Fire Protection District (LFPD), I want to encourage our LFPD residents to contact Amador LAFCO and express their support for the proposed reorganization of LFPD and Amador Fire Protection District (AFPD). This reorganization was initiated by the LFPD Board and agreed to by the AFPD Board. LAFCO is the entity responsible for approving the reorganization, which will result in annexing LFPD into AFPD, dissolution of LFPD as a separate entity, and designating AFPD as the successor agency to LFPD.

The LFPD Board did not reach this decision lightly, as this will result in the dissolution of the LFPD Board and fire district, but the history of LFPD clearly shows this is the best course of action for ensuring adequate and appropriate fire protection and emergency services for the LFPD area. LFPD has a history of boom and bust when it comes to staffing levels and budgets.  

More budgets than not have had deficits since 2016. Staffing has varied from approximately 16 volunteers to 4 volunteers during that time. Hours of operation have varied widely. But what has been consistently shown is that when LFPD partners with a larger agency, it is able to provide better service, and when it is not partnered with a larger entity, service suffers.

The Board initiated a LAFCO project to be annexed into AFPD to provide financial stability and greater resources for our district and appropriate and adequate services for our residents. This reorganization was initiated by the LFPD Board for the safety and protection of our residents.  
AFPD has the financial, training, and experience resources to provide superior service for our  
residents.

Years ago LFPD partnered with CAL FIRE to provide staffing and our principal fire station was fully staffed. When that arrangement ended our staffing levels fell, resulting in reduced hours of operation in providing services.

In 2022, and until November 2023, LFPD partnered with AFPD. That arrangement resulted in more training opportunities for our staff and LFPD was able to attract more volunteers. Staffing increased to 16 volunteers and our fire station was open every day of the week. That arrangement ended in November of 2023. Within a few months our staffing had dropped to 4 volunteers and our fire station was open only 1 to 2 days a week for one eight-hour shift. That level of service is wholly inadequate for providing fire protection and emergency services to our district and for our responsibilities under mutual aid agreements with other fire districts. Other entities have to take up the slack for our calls through mutual aid agreements, but those are designed to cover the needs of a specific situation requiring aid, not as an ongoing permanent shift in responsibilities. It is unfair to other districts to expect that they will, at their cost, cover shortfalls in our service capabilities through mutual aid agreements on a daily basis for the long term. Further, relying on outside entities to answer LFPD calls means longer response times for our residents.

Already, under a new temporary agreement with AFPD in place since July of this year, hours of operation have increased and the fire station is now open 7 days a week, rather than only 1 or 2 days a week. LFPD now has the ability to appropriately respond to our calls or mutual aid calls from outside of our district under this temporary arrangement.

The Board wants this level of service to be permanent for our residents, and concluded that annexation into AFPD is the only viable way to do so long term. The success of the prior and current arrangements with AFPD, where LFPD and AFPD were and are functionally consolidated, demonstrates that the benefits of LFPD partnering with AFPD are real and will only be improved upon actual annexation.

The best news is that not only will this reorganization provide appropriate levels and range of services, but it would do so for essentially the same cost. LFPD imposes an annual fee assessment of $70 for improved residential property. AFPD imposes its own benefit assessment fee and the average improved residential property assessment for the coming fiscal year will be $77. So for basically the same assessment, AFPD plans to provide 24 hour operation 7 days a week in the LFPD area.

If LFPD is not annexed, it would have to increase its fee assessment by at least 300% to begin building financial reserves and reverse years of declining operational and capital improvement funds. While that may address financial concerns, it does not guarantee adequate staffing and service levels, because attracting volunteers is not just a matter of money. But why should our residents pay 3 times as much as they do now when AFPD can provide superior service levels for what our residents pay currently? It’s a no-brainer and why the LFPD Board decided to initiate this reorganization proposal.

I urge our LFPD residents to contact LAFCO and express their support for this project. LAFCO will meet September 19, 2024 at 5:30 pm to consider this proposal. Your comments should be provided at least 48 hours ahead of that meeting in order to be considered by LAFCO. You can mail your comments to Amador LAFCO, P.O. Box 1574, Sutter Creek CA 95685, or email them to LAFCO at amador.lafco@gmail.com.
For the safety of our residents, please express your support for this reorganization.

JoAnne McLachlan  
President, Lockwood Fire Protection District Board Of Directors