From the Marin IJ HERE
The Marinwood Community Services District has begun discussing the future of its fire department, now that fire Chief Tom Roach announced he will retire at the end of the fiscal year. He has spent 26 years with the department and 14 years as chief.
The Marinwood Community Services District has begun discussing the future of its fire department, now that fire Chief Tom Roach announced he will retire at the end of the fiscal year. He has spent 26 years with the department and 14 years as chief.
There are 10 firefighters in the department, which has a $2.8 million annual budget.
On Tuesday, the Marinwood district board approved forming a nine-person committee to explore “all options”, said Eric Dreikosen, district manager.
“This is not entirely spurred by the fact that the chief is retiring,” he said. “It’s time to just review our fire protection services and what makes most sense operationally and financially.”
There had been talks in the past to expand shared services between Marinwood and the San Rafael Fire Department, said San Rafael fire chief Chris Gray, who said the relationship between the departments remains strong.
“We will continue being interested in working with our neighboring fire departments, as we have demonstrated over the past years,” Gray said. “Fire service is one of the most transportable services.”
The San Rafael department has 72 firefighters and an annual budget of $25 million.
Editor's Note: Why does Marinwood pay ONE MILLION DOLLARS MORE than Santa Venetia for fire service ($1,702,000)? Truly, Marinwood CSD residents are getting a raw deal at $2.8 million dollars annually PLUS capital costs for equipment/ firehouse. Our fire service spends 2/3 of its calls (mostly medical) in the City of San Rafael for NO COMPENSATION. We used to get paid $350k annually but the Marinwood CSD elected to continue the arrangement on a month to month basis for gas and some training benefits in 2014.
We desperately need to find a new solution for fire service that is fair to the taxpayers. This grossly unfair situation was created by the CSD board and Fire Commission for the benefit of the fire union.
Chief Roach is considering retirement and no doubt will expect a big payout. We need to examine his role in the purchase of the fire truck in 2016 in violation of government contracting laws and the designer kitchen makeover for the firehouse. More than anything Marinwood CSD most get its financial house in order. No excuses for waste.
We desperately need to find a new solution for fire service that is fair to the taxpayers. This grossly unfair situation was created by the CSD board and Fire Commission for the benefit of the fire union.
Chief Roach is considering retirement and no doubt will expect a big payout. We need to examine his role in the purchase of the fire truck in 2016 in violation of government contracting laws and the designer kitchen makeover for the firehouse. More than anything Marinwood CSD most get its financial house in order. No excuses for waste.
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