We are working on finding a solution.

Daniel de Graaf mentioned Tuesday that the Ripon City Council will continue to work with the Ripon Consolidated Fire District even after losing the Proposition 218 tax assessment election last week.

The deputy mayor moved to add the item to the agenda after property owners in the fire district’s 56-square-mile service area voted against Proposition 218 in a 1,075-942 vote on Aug. 8.

50 percent of the votes plus a majority were required for adoption.

Nearly two dozen people came to the monthly meeting looking for solutions to help the Ripon Consolidated Fire District.

“We have had two-by-two meetings with the fire district (since 2020) to try to find a solution – we are committed, but we have to work within the legal framework,” de Graaf said.

In attendance were attorneys from both sides specializing in municipal finance who discussed ways to increase the fire district’s operating revenues. The Prop. 218 assessment was the preferred option.

Speakers asked if the City of Ripon had the resources to support the fire district.

Mayor Leo Zuber responded: “The City of Ripon cannot extend its services beyond the city limits. The rural areas would have to find their own solution. But at the moment we are not ready to consider that (since the election was four days earlier).”

Had Proposition 218 passed, it would have helped with staffing issues, including additional staff for the unmanned Station 3 on North Ripon Road and for emergency services. A spokesman expressed deep concern that emergency services could be lost.

As an independent, self-governing special district established in 1921, the RCFD existed before the founding of the City of Ripon.

“To ensure firefighting and emergency response, the fire district relies primarily on property taxes, special levies, service fees and zoning fees,” City Administrator Kevin Werner explained in his council report.

He added that the RCFD Board of Directors has communicated to the public that additional revenue is needed to continue to provide the standard of service previously provided to properties in its service area.

“Property tax revenue is the fire district’s largest source of income and has been impacted by two measures,” Werner said.

First, Bill 13 was passed in 1978, which limited property taxes to one percent of the assessed value of a property.

“This has resulted in the RCFD receiving only 5 to 6 percent of the 1 percent of assessed property value, while other nearby fire districts receive 10 to 11 percent,” Werner said.

He pointed out that the 1985 property tax assessment was approved by voters in the fire protection district’s jurisdiction but was not indexed.

“As inflation has increased since 1985, the value of the levies has decreased. If these levies were indexed to keep pace with inflation when approved, the amounts collected in 2024 would be sufficient to continue operating the RCFD without additional levies,” Werner said.

Elected officials supported the Prop. 218 assessment process and approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and the fire district. Had Prop. 218 passed, the City of Ripon and the RCFD would have shared the cost of the assessment.

“I was surprised and disappointed,” said City Councilor Gary Barton about the result.

He initially didn’t receive his ballot in the mail and had to request one. He wondered if this had happened to others in the RCFD service area.

Barton also questioned the low attendance numbers.

“This issue affects all of us very much,” he said. “I believe there is a solution. I just don’t know what it is?”