The decision whether to seek an amendment to the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department Joint Powers Authority Agreement is so important, City Manager Mark Weiss said he asked that the council meeting be moved to Tuesday to accommodate all five members.

The city of San Carlos could save roughly $120,000 annually if JPA boardmembers from both entities agree to the change. While the savings is minor compared to the approximately $2 million yearly the sales tax would have raised, any extra money is a “budgetary impact,” Weiss said the day after the measure’s failure.

Three of the four board members of the Belmont San Carlos Fire Authority have approved the changes but both cities’ councils must accept the recommendation and direct their board representatives to vote yes. Mayor Bob Grassilli was the dissenter.

If the City Council opts against a change, the city of Belmont will likely not even agendize the matter because it will be moot. If instead the San Carlos City Council says yes, the ball moves to the court of neighboring Belmont. That decision could be even more challenging because under the proposed amendment, Belmont would shoulder more of the financial burden in the JPA.

The two cities have a fractured past, often butting heads as part of the former JPA, the South County Fire Authority. When the JPA regrouped into the current department, funding was established with four equally weighted criteria: Population, number of fire stations, call volume and assessed property valuation. The JPA agreement began with San Carlos paying more than Belmont based on the structure but the difference has grown since and San Carlos Mayor Bob Grassilli has said the assessed valuation in particular has skewed the division of the approximately $12 million budget.

The funding proposal on the table changes stations and calls to 35 percent each and population and assessed valuation to 15 percent each.

The San Carlos City Council meets 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 at City Hall, 600 Elm St., San Carlos.