The Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department should change the way it divides funding for the joint service, according to San Carlos city leaders who stand to save roughly $120,000 annually if the current proposal prevails.

However, the council also agreed its two representative to the fire board — Mayor Bob Grassilli and Councilman Matt Grocott — should continue working on a better deal and even investigate a regional answer to a more financially viable fire service option.

The San Carlos City Council provided mixed answers on how the funding formula should be adjusted but, with money on the line, a majority agreed to bring it back to the fire joint powers authority.

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

On Monday, the San Carlos City Council agreed to move forward although members conceded Belmont — armed with a special fire district fund — might be less inclined to follow suit.

Belmont has not yet agendized its discussion of the amendment. Councilman Warren Lieberman previously said if San Carlos opted not to ask for change, it was a moot point for Belmont to even spend time on the matter.

San Carlos, on the other hand, is smarting from failure of a half-cent sales tax measure on Election Day and looking to tighten its expenses.

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 Grassilli has said the assessed valuation in particular has skewed the division of the approximately $12 million budget.

“Just because a building is worth more doesn’t mean more cost is being involved,” Grassilli said.

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

The deal doesn’t go far enough, according to Councilman Brad Lewis.

With Belmont about to install a new council, some members of the San Carlos City Council thought it wasn’t the right time to settle on a new formula and none seemed particularly unified in how to approach funding.

Councilman Omar Ahmad was not a fan of using assessed value at all and Lewis said call volume is the most important element. Councilman Randy Royce, however, worried that if a facilities had multiple calls, they might be encouraged not to call if call volume was a factor in funding.

Prior to the vote, resident Pat Bell told the council to accept San Carlos uses more services and has a higher call volume.

“We have to admit we use more and we probably ought to pay more,” she said, adding that Belmont might dig in its heels if a new deal is suggested.

“It’s going to be ugly,” she said.

Andy Klein, recently elected to the City Council asked the current panel to find it’s “moral indignation” about the plan and urged them to push for “a fair deal or no deal at all.”

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.