{"id":10482,"date":"2012-02-19T19:59:08","date_gmt":"2012-02-20T03:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/?p=10482"},"modified":"2026-01-05T20:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T04:04:33","slug":"latrobe-edh-fire-agreement-is-a-done-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/2012\/02\/19\/latrobe-edh-fire-agreement-is-a-done-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Latrobe\/EDH fire agreement is a done deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"asset-masthead \">\n<header class=\"asset-header\">\n<div class=\"meta\">\n<ul class=\"list-inline\">\n<li><span class=\"tnt-byline\">By Mike Roberts, <\/span><time class=\"tnt-date asset-date text-muted\" datetime=\"2012-02-19T20:27:58-08:00\">Feb 19, 2012<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"main-content col-lg-8 col-md-7 has-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"main-content-wrap\">\n<div id=\"asset-content\" data-asset-uuid=\"79721c61-0204-5c54-a0ba-416410ae88a6\" data-smart-adunit=\"\/132916964,32926401\/villagelife.com\/news\/local\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12\" data-subscription-required-class=\"col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"asset-body has-fixed-share\" data-subscription-required-class=\"asset-body\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"asset-content  subscriber-premium\">\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>The El Dorado Hills Fire District will share initial dispatch responsibility for an estimated 60 emergency calls in Latrobe each year with the Latrobe Fire Protection District under the terms of a agreement that both district boards approved last week. The annual cost to Latrobe is $25,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-preview\">\n<p>The agreement formalizes and strengthens a role that El Dorado Hills currently provides its fiscally strapped southerly neighbor under the county mutual aid agreement. Ambulance response remains covered by the county Joint Powers Authority, which is outside the agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Latrobe Fire Chief Chris Couper said the agreement\u2019s intent is to \u201censure the integrity of the response,\u201d and \u201cmake sure everyone is compensated fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"tnt-ads-container text-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-article_instory_top\" class=\"tncms-region hidden-print\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Couper and El Dorado Hills Fire Chief Dave Roberts presented the proposal to a packed Feb. 13 Latrobe Fire Board meeting, then fielded questions from residents concerned that dwindling district revenues would leave their homes and families exposed to fire danger in what could be a frighteningly dry 2012 summer. Roberts reported that the proposal was generally well received.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>During the El Dorado Hills board\u2019s February meeting, Roberts and district counsel Mike Cook reviewed minor contract language changes requested by the Latrobe board, mainly the softening of some contract language.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>The final agreement asks Latrobe make its \u201cbest effort\u201d to maintain its volunteer organization at or above current levels, with a like effort to have a chief officer present at an estimated half dozen major incidents each year. The El Dorado Hills board had no problem with the changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>The Latrobe board shelved an accompanying $5,000 proposal for administrative services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>El Dorado Hills resident Dick Ross asked his board to ensure that call activity is tracked and reported, noting \u201cfor Latrobe to afford this they have to let something go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Latrobe Director John Haverty, who helped form the district in 1982, assured the El Dorado Hills board that his volunteer organization will continue to provide initial incident response after hours and on weekends, which leaves the district needing coverage for an estimated five major calls per year, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>His board requested the proposal from El Dorado Hills for help during a mid-week daytime shift currently covered by a soon-to-be-restructured paid staff, he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tnt-ads-container text-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Afterward Haverty added that the board wants to maintain a presence at Station 91 on South Shingle Road during the day in support of the two adjacent schools. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of kids in one spot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>He reflected on the brutal economics that rural fire districts across the county now face, and why outsourcing some of the responsibility makes sense. \u201cStaffing enough firefighters to man an engine company for five calls a year is tough,\u201d Haverty said. \u201cThe sad reality is that it\u2019s a lot to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tncms-region-article_instory_middle\" class=\"tncms-region hidden-print\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Haverty refused to call the county\u2019s rural fire district funding, which likely ends in June, \u201caid to fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>\u201cLook at the portion of tax dollars that go to fire service in other districts and then look at what Latrobe gets,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re paying the same amount of taxes, but not getting the dollars back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Haverty said Latrobe residents he\u2019s talked to understand, \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get the best protection for them with the budget we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Representatives of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District were also at the Latrobe board meeting, pitching a complete annexation. \u201cBut we\u2019re not ready for that, at least not now,\u201d said Haverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Haverty said he\u2019s gotten \u201ca little heat\u201d from other rural fire officials for agreeing to outsource coverage in the district he helped found. \u201cI tell \u2019em we have to,\u201d he shrugged.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>The die was likely cast when the district formed in 1982 with a meager 6 percent slice of the Proposition 13 mandated 1 percent property tax. By comparison, El Dorado Hills gets 17.5 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Latrobe\u2019s tax and assessment revenue was just $141,840 in 2009, the most recent year the State Controller\u2019s Office reported on special district revenues. Tax revenues have steadily declined since then, said Couper.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tnt-ads-container text-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Latrobe received $108,000 from the county in fiscal 2011-12, half of the district\u2019s prior aid-to-fire funding. But district officials aren\u2019t counting on anything from the county in 2012-13.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>Couper takes no salary as fire chief, reserving sparse district funds for the essentials, including a small group of firefighters paid at intern rates on a midweek daytime shift.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>All of Latrobe\u2019s apparatus and equipment will remain owned, operated and maintained by Latrobe staff. The contract invites Latrobe paid and volunteer firefighters to train with El Dorado Hills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscriber-only\">\n<p>The agreement can terminated with six months notice by either district. The contract went into effect Feb. 20.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Mike Roberts, Feb 19, 2012 The El Dorado Hills Fire District will share initial dispatch responsibility for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"medium_large":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"large":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"darknews-slider-full":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"darknews-featured":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"darknews-medium":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657.jpg",480,360,false],"darknews-medium-square":["http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4433657-350x350.jpg",350,350,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"News MoLo","author_link":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/author\/admin\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/News\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10485,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions\/10485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}