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EDITOR:
The front page of the Democrat has a great color photo of the Salmon falls Fire, Page 3 has a statement by our courageous District 2 Supervisor Ray Nutting regarding the SRA tax. “The public should know what’s coming.”
There have been numerous articles written since before this bill was passed and signed last year by Jerry Brown. The crux of the issue is that the money is to be for “prevention” not “suppression.” Prevention is “PR,” public relations, defensible space evaluations, speaking at meetings, doing fairs and the like. Things that have been withheld for a year due to “budgetary constraints,” which didn’t account for the stockpile of PR items stored away in hidden coffers. Now they can come out of the closet and be distributed, once the payments start coming in — your money. Heck even Smokey was denied fresh air due to ” budget constraints.”
We all love Smokey, but not to the tune of $115 to $150 per habitable structure per year, or in this case twice in one fiscal year. Most folks I’ve spoken with think the dollars will help fight fires like the one at Salmon Falls, Georgetown or down here on Sandridge Road yesterday, all occurring simultaneously. Guess what folks, the money is not for suppression, it’s for prevention. This is another one of those magic tricks. Pass the wand over our heads, use terminology easily misconstrued by the average resident … like we’ll never know what hit us, until you get the bill. The response to the multiple fires yesterday was quick and effective. That is suppression. Our mutual aide system works. Our fire districts and Cal Fire work well together with Sheriff D’Agostini’s deputies and the CHP. Most activities went smoothly. That is cooperation during suppression. That is not pencils, erasers and PR. I don’t believe it is even manning the station.
Some of the money is supposed to go to grants to Fire Safe Councils. That buys the support of people who don’t realize that satellite Fire Safe Councils are all volunteer. The major expense to the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council is administration and insurance. Dime to a dollar that is not covered by your SRA tax. The Nashville-Sandridge area was prepared to survive the fire yesterday. The community has worked long and hard since 2005 to establish clear roadsides, 100 -foot defensible space, acquire grants and participate in roadside work days, all free, all volunteer. We work in conjunction with our fire district and Cal Fire, but we will have to pay the same SRA tax as those who have done nothing.
So what do you gain? Hokus Pokus, don’t blink.
LINDA COLOMBO
El Dorado
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Joe MommaAugust 24, 2012 - 5:42 pm
Same here in Swansboro (Placerville rural subdivision) They drew the SRA lines to encompass our community and just outside their lines is the USFS responsibility. We maintain our own properties and the property owners association that we pay $760 a year takes care of the common areas, besides that we pay over $200 for our communities fire department on our property tax. I called the Calfire fee info. line and asked them since we maintain all the area within this SRA what will they do with the monies collected from us in THIS community? Their reply was they would do nothing as far as brush and fire hazard removal on private properties and the fee would be used for instruction and training on how to keep our properties fire safe, blah blah blah! Well it seems to me we have been doing just fine at this ourselves without their $150 training course.So all in all it is REALLY a tax as it does not directly benefit me or my community directly and most of my FEE is really being applied like a TAX as it will be used elsewhere for fire prevention. Thanks Jerry Brown you half-wit money grabbing extortionist
Vic SubiaSeptember 15, 2012 - 10:12 am
"So what do you gain? Hokus Pokus, don’t blink." I've asked this question from a different point of view on several posts and to date no one has been able to offer an answer other than what's in the pamphlet or on the website for Cal FIRE. What's in the pamphlet and on the website are general statements not specifics. My question still is "What will each property owner receive for their Tax/Fee?" What should every property owner expect in service in order to determine that they did in fact receive that service. How can you hold government accountable if you do not know EXACTLY what service(s) you paid for.