County of San Benito discussing Joint Powers Authority for the possible creation of a fire district
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. (KION) - San Benito County is considering forming a joint powers authority on Tuesday to discuss creating a fire district for the area.
The multi-entity group would be a collaboration between the county, City of Hollister and City of San Juan Bautista.
This comes after the City of Hollister sent notice of a termination clause to San Benito County and San Juan Bautista.
The current contract expires in December of 2025, but the city voted to end it early, arguing that they should be paid millions more to offer the services. They also argue that the fire department is low on funding, but would consider new negotiations.
In a social media post about the negotiations, Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki says that they've attempted to renegotiate terms with the city, but that the mayor has refused to open the discussion.
Mayor Mia Casey sent a statement to KION saying this is false and that Hollister City Council gave direction last May to the City Manager and City Attorney to renegotiate the contract.
She adds Hollister, the county and San Juan Bautista are currently in discussions.
The service termination, as a letter indicates, it's a 270-day notice to both the county and San Juan Bautista.
Earlier this year, the letter argued that the city simply doesn't have enough funding to provide services to both entities.
Councilmember Resendiz was the lone vote that disagreed with the yes votes by other council members.
Hollister Firefighters Association leader Vince Grewohl voiced his concerns with the move by council prior to the vote.
"We strongly encourage you not to use the 270-day termination clause as a negotiation tactic," said Grewohl. "We ask that you continue the contract as agreed to and begin good faith negotiations with your elected boards."
This is in reference to previous reporting by KION in speaking with staff at San Juan Bautista who said the contract isn't over until December 2025.
Some concerns brought up is the potential for firefighter layoffs and the possibility of a large fire happening in the county.
"Scaling back services to a growing community in the second wet year of growth leaves the public at an unreasonable risk," said a concerned Hollister resident. "Leaving the public at an unreasonable risk of having a Lahaina-scale fire not only as a possibility, but a strong likelihood.
The city previously told KION they're working to negotiate with the county and San Juan Bautista to work on a new "equitable" deal.
City of Hollister may cut fire resources to San Benito County and San Juan Bautista
Tensions are rising between the city of Hollister and the County of San Benito. Hollister may decide to break a contract they had with the county on Tuesday when the board will discuss the termination of fire services with San Benito County and the city of San Juan Bautista.
"I own businesses here. I own property here. And with the fire season and the drought, everything is ongoing. And so it's not a good thing for us. It's very scary," said Patricia B. who lives in San Juan Bautista.
The Hollister Fire Department has been providing resources to the station in San Juan Bautista since 2013.
Now, that partnership may soon be cut. Councilmember Rollin Resendiz says the city has mismanaged funds.
"We went from having $14 million in reserves to the next coming year, being in the negative within two years. Now trying to find ways to recoup some of that money. And unfortunately, our staff and our firefighters are going to be the ones to suffer those consequences," said Rolan Resendiz, Hollister City Council member.
The City Manager of San Juan Bautista says they were expecting this to happen next year when their contract expired.
"It's just a bit of a surprise because we thought the contract was ending in December 2025. And so now the conversation is to end it sooner than that. So we hadn't included it in our budget conversations for this fiscal year, and it wasn't on the radar until the council of Hollister, brought it up as a concern," said Don Reynolds, City Manager for San Juan Bautista.
The county says they planned to renew that 5-year contract in 2025. The county says it does not have its fire department like neighboring counties because they don’t generate as much revenue.
San Benito County Council member Kollin Kosmicki blames Hollister city leaders for putting peoples' safety at risk.
"They've allowed their fire department budget, without consulting anyone else get out of control. And now the city's going broke over, and they're coming to us and asking us to bail them out. We don't have the money," said Kosmicki.
Kosmicki says they are going to be in talks with CAL FIRE in the meantime. He says CAL FIRE assisted the county before the city of Hollister.
People in San Juan Bautista say they want unity between elected officials.
"I just would like to see the city working together, like whatever other powers that be, to make this a very cohesive and safe community," said Patricia.
“The Hollister City Council has determined it is in the best interest of the city to begin the termination process for the current fire agreements due to a continuing funding shortfall for services being provided by the city," said Mia Casey, Mayor of Hollister.
Editor's Note: This article was updated on August 27, 2024 at 9:36 a.m.
