San Benito begins to weight their fire service options
HOLLISTER, Calif. - The San Benito Board of Supervisors are weighting new options for future fire services after Hollister Fire sent a notice of termination.
Hollister Fire's contract with the county is set to expire in December 2025. While negotiations continue, supervisors want to see what options are out they have to keep fire service ongoing, whether it's through a new contract with Hollister or by other means.
"I take great pride in providing fire protection service not only to the city of Hollister and the city of San Juan Bautista, but also the county of San Benito. But as was stated, the cost of providing these services continues to rise," Hollister Fire Chief Johnathan Goulding said during public comment.
One option that the county is considering is to negotiate a continued partnership with Hollister Fire.
“Unfortunately, from my perspective, the way the city is currently treating this is - is more closely related to extortion than a partnership," San Benito County District 1 Supervisor Dom Zanger said.
The seven options on the table are in collaboration with MRG, a consulting firm, who presented each option with a set of pros and cons.
“The main focus of discussions has centered around the increase of $3.8 million to the annual contract price, which, according to our calculations, is still lower than our cost to provide these services," Chief Goulding said.
Building a new fire San Benito County fire department from the ground up along with the creation of a regional fire district were discussed.
Some in the community shared concerns about negotiations falling apart.
"The city is willing to cooperate. Unfortunately, the county, having lost the CAO [County Administrative Officer], your interim CAO, was not able function with the knowledge that your other CAO has," said one concern resident.
City Manager David Marrione challenged one option, a hybrid model, combining efforts from CAL FIRE and local staffing as CAL FIRE's services are more expensive at $6 million a fire station.
"Our request equates to $6 million for four stations. I urge your staff to provide complete information they set forth to educate the community and we're available for your town hall as well," Marrione said.
San Benito County District Four supervisor Angel Curro elaborated on the need of a stronger relationship to move forward with the possible renegotiation.
"It's all about trust. And how do we bring the trust into our community? Somebody has to give," Curro said. "I have been working very closely with both cities to build a relationship of trust, and I am savvy to be in this position when we are handling a fire contract."
A town hall for the public to have their say and see the options for themselves is set for November 7th at Hollister Veterans' Memorial Building.
