Millbrae is formally asking that the joint powers agreement governing the Central County Fire Department — the agency that provides fire response services to Millbrae, Burlingame and Hillsborough — be amended to include their city.
CCFD was formed through a joint powers agreement between Burlingame and Hillsborough in 2005, and Millbrae entered into a contractual fire services agreement with the agency in 2014. Currently, Millbrae pays for 30% of the department’s $46.7 million budget, with Burlingame contributing 42% and Hillsborough 28%.
It’s time for Millbrae to have a formal place in the organization’s decision-making capabilities, rather than just fronting the bill, Mayor Stephen Rainaldi said.
“This isn't the first time this request has been made. I just don’t understand why it’s never been acted on,” he said. “Millbrae has the responsibility without the representation. To me, in my mind, that's just not a sustainable governance model.”
Currently, two fire stations in Millbrae, two in Hillsborough and two in Burlingame, serve all three communities.
Councilmembers and City Manager Tom Williams said that for years, the city has been paying for fire services that benefit all three communities, including a $70,000 upgrade to the training tower, without representation on the CCFD board.
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Conversation on this point was further exacerbated by a budget item increasing Millbrae’s CCFD contribution by 14%, from $10.4 million to $11.8 million. The City Council approved a 9.7% increase for salary and personnel costs, but said that a $340,000 increase request for rent and tenant improvements did not appear authorized in their current contract.
If Millbrae was included in the CCFD’s governance model, it would be able to comment on the agency’s budget as it was being formed, Williams said after an inquiry from Rainaldi.
“So we wouldn't just be handed a bill and told to pay and come back to them if we had any reservations?” Rainaldi asked.
There have been prior conversations around the formation of CCFD as a dependent district potentially including Millbrae, a process that would require both City Council and voter approval.
But the point of Millbrae’s formal resolution at the council’s June 23 meeting was to emphasize that the city has been and wants to continue to be a long-term partner, Vice Mayor Anders Fung said.
“Our intent is to work with CCFD and be a part of the district in the long run,” he said. “This intent cannot be more clear.”
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