Stations

Bond to Upgrade Sacramento Metro Fire Equipment Appears Headed for Passage

Nov. 6, 2024

The 35-year bond that would cost about $78 per year will buy new engines, build new stations and rehab old ones.

By Darrell Smith

Source The Sacramento Bee (TNS)

Sacramento Metropolitan Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn talks about the needs of the fire department.

Sacramento County’s Measure O, the $415 million bond measure to fund upgrades to facilities and equipment for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, is leading in early results.

In the final Election Night batch of results, the measure remained ahead 68% to 32%, meeting a two-thirds majority.

Metro Fire is one of the largest fire agencies in the state. Its stations serve more than 720,000 people across much of unincorporated Sacramento County, the cities of Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova and a sliver of Placer County.

The 35-year bond expires in 2061. Measure O would cost $19 per $100,000 of assessed value, or about $78 per year, for the typical property taxpayer, said Metro officials.

Bond supporters include Metro Fire, which says it needs the bond funding to buy new fire engines and equipment, refurbish aging station houses and build new ones as demand for fire and emergency services increases.

Taxpayer advocates Sacramento Taxpayer Association has taken a neutral stance on Measure O, saying it verified that none of bond funds will go toward salaries and that the cost of new facilities and equipment would be “substantial.”

“Sac Tax believes Metro Fire has been forthcoming about providing answers to the questions asked in our ballot argument,” association officials said.

Metro Fire responds to about 110,000 calls each year. The number of calls for fire emergencies has increased by 40%; and medical emergencies by 30% from 10 years ago, officials said.

Metro fire officials say the agency needs another $41.5 million annually to fund capital needs for the next 10 years and to account for inflation.

Projects on the wait list include new fire stations in North Highlands, Rancho Cordova and Vineyard; and plans to expand or relocate aging firehouses in North Highlands, Rancho Cordova, Mather, Citrus Heights, Florin and Carmichael.

In Metro Fire’s budget document to Sacramento County leaders, Metro officials said the district has sufficient funds for current spending, but “lacks the financial resources to address long-term liabilities and capital priorities.”