Atherton going ahead with fire services fiscal review

April 20--The Atherton City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday evening to fund a "Fire Fiscal Services Review" that would examine how much residents of the town pay to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, and what it receives for its investment.

The issue arose more than a year ago, after the town published its Local Municipal Services web page, where it explains how much residents spend for what services, ranging from public education to refuse collection.

But City Manager George Rodericks was not able to get a clear picture of what residents get for their tax dollars from the fire district.

Council Member Rick DeGolia commented Wednesday that "you only have to look at the property tax bills" to see why it's a concern to residents. The fire district receives almost twice as much money from town residents as does the town. The town provides police and administrative services. The fire district provides first-response paramedics and firefighters. Ambulance services are contracted through the county.

Getting financial information from the fire district has become a hot and disputed topic between the district and the town.

"They say they are transparent," said Council Member Cary Wiest on Wednesday, "but it's like pulling porcupine quills out of a porcupine" to get any data from the fire district.

Wiest, who with council member Bill Widmer is a liaison to the fire district, said doing the study would be "a first step. ... Taking the steps is part of our process of getting knowledge about the fire district and its costs to Atherton."

DeGolia said he was not entirely clear about "what we are going to get from this."

Wiest repeated that step No. 1 is to figure out the cost to Atherton.

"I don't think the fire district cares about Atherton," Wiest said. "They are a big district, and we are little Atherton, with a big amount of money. We need to drill down to find out what the fire services cost, compared to what we're paying."

According to information given to the town by the fire district, Atherton residents contribute 31.7 percent of the district's budget, or $11.8 million, second only to Menlo Park. San Mateo County provides 15.6 percent, and East Palo Alto, 5.6 percent.

Mayor Michael Lempres said that he wasn't sure about his math, but that he thinks each fire district call in Atherton, in effect, costs $23,000.

Council members noted that the fire district is facing increased needs for its services, especially in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, which are seeing lots of development; and that they are concerned about the possibility of the fire district reducing services to Atherton. A recent study performed for the fire district did at least consider closing the one fire station in the town.

Nobody from the fire district attended the meeting, but Atherton resident Walter Sleeth spoke briefly, saying the council would be "foolish to spend the money" on the study.

The council authorized Rodericks to execute a contract with Matrix Consulting Group to do the study, for a fixed price of $49,500.

Council Member Elizabeth Lewis said the town would hold a public meeting after the study is completed to share its findings with residents.

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