Merging Marysville and Linda, CA, Fire Departments Eyed to Enhance Service

Merging the operations of the Marysville Fire Department into the Linda Fire Department will result in service improvements to constituents of both agencies, according to a feasibility study of such a proposal.

No service cuts or station closures are necessary with the merger under a proposed service plan outlined in the study document, which is being formally transmitted to the Marysville City Council at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

“Consolidation of the two agencies would allow for a single set of organizational policies, a single staffing and scheduling program, elimination of duplication of software systems requiring annual subscriptions, savings in overtime expenses due to a shared labor pool shared across the two agencies,” the proposed service plan indicates. “The combined workforce will lend itself to greater options and efficiencies in staffing day to day operations as well as specialty needs. The larger workforce will have more opportunities for diverse assignments and projects, as well as greater promotional opportunities that could lead to greater job satisfaction and increased employee retention.

The study, commissioned by the Linda Fire Protection District and paid for in part by the City of Marysville, and conducted by Capitol Public Finance Group, LLC of Roseville, suggested a merger would cut down on duplication.

Since 2022, “the Linda Fire Chief manages the two independent fire agencies, each with its own governance structure, internal policies, procedures, and resources. This suggests duplication and an opportunity to increase efficiency. The City and the Linda Fire Protection District each have their own policies, procedures, and systems. From a practical standpoint, currently, the two agencies operate as a single functional team, but navigate two different organizational systems and use different resources for the same needs, resulting in a significant increase in workload on staff. A consolidation would increase staff efficiency.”

The Linda Fire Department is an independent special district formed in 1951. It covers 52 square miles immediately south of Marysville. It serves approximately 32,500 residents and approximately 13,270 parcels with more than 11,200 structures and responds to more than 5,000 emergency calls per year, according to the study. It is governed by a board of directors of three individuals elected at-large from the service area. It currently employs 23 full-time personnel with an operating budget of approximately $6 million.

The Marysville Fire Department, initially formed one hundred years earlier in 1851, serves the 12,600 residents of the city, which is 3.6 square miles. Under a contract, it also provides services to approximately 85 square miles of the unincorporated areas of Hallwood and District 10. There are more than 5,500 parcels and 4,400 structures in its service area. It is governed by the five-member Marysville City Council. It employs 13 full-time personnel with a current fiscal year operating budget of $2.7 million. The fire department responded to 3,707 calls for service in fiscal year 2023-24.

The council is being asked Tuesday to receive the report, but doing so does not commit the city to a merger, according to City Manager Jim Schaad.

There would need to be several steps before a consolidation could occur, including action by the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is currently conducting a municipal service review for south county fire districts, as well as negotiation of a tax exchange agreement between the City of Marysville and the Linda Fire Protection District.

According to the study, “Key financial decision points for Linda FPD and Marysville FD are to ensure there is sufficient current and future revenue sources for the annexation and that there is relative equity in both agency’s property and sales tax contributions to the combined agency. The District’s sources of revenue from the City would be set at the time of annexation. This transfer of revenue from the City is very important to understand for two reasons. First, the City gives up revenue, but second, only for the cost of fire services at the time of the annexation. In other words, the City transfers fire services to the District at the present value, forever. There can be no increase asked by the District from the City. If in the decades ahead, the District wants to increase revenues it must ask the voters in the District, not just the City. Thus, the City freezes its cost of fire services forever.

According to a staff report prepared for the council, the purpose of the reorganization would be to reduce duplication efforts, drop boundaries, share staff and resources, and provide “the highest level of service to the City of Marysville constituents.”

One other consideration if the city and the fire district pursue a consolidation is what the governing board would look like.

From the report: As part of the annexation analysis, the question of policy governance (elected officials) must be addressed. For a city and a fire district, the more typical form of merger is for a district to annex the city’s area into the district solely for the provision of fire services, which is what is contemplated in this proposed annexation. In effect, the city council transfers fire service decisions to the district. The communities of the Linda FPD and the City can have a mechanism to ensure constituents of both jurisdictions have equal means for fair and equitable representation in an annexation. Under the Fire Protection Law of 1987, a fire protection district may include incorporated territory (Health and Safety Code section 13810). In this type of annexation there would be one fire service provider and the governing body would be people elected by the voters across the entire new District, including the City. In order to ensure that Marysville residents are fairly represented in an expanded fire district, the Linda FPD Board of Directors can be expanded from three to five positions. The two new positions can be filled initially by two Marysville residents, thereby addressing the concern of fair representation. The City and Linda FPD can negotiate the best approach for selecting future governing board members as part of the annexation negotiations. Discussions should consider whether the future Board should be elected at-large or through assigned districts within the Linda FPD service area through the California Voters Rights Act (CVRA).”

Following are the key findings identified in the feasibility study:

* The communities would benefit from the annexation of Marysville FD into Linda FPD.

* No staffing cuts or station closures are proposed.

* Added command staff and fire prevention positions would support the community and firefighters with enhanced operational capacity, training, safety and risk reduction.

* No new facilities are needed. Services will be delivered from existing facilities.

* Sufficient revenues exist to support joint annexation, with cost savings for the City of Marysville.

* Careful consideration should be given to combined salary schedules and benefit packages, and to provide sufficient reserves for the new entity.

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