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Published November 5th, 2014
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Lamorinda Fire News Briefs
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| By Nick Marnell |
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MOFD Pension Bill Drops
The Moraga-Orinda Fire District's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2013-14 was presented to its board of directors Oct. 15 by administrative services director Gloriann Sasser, who noted that MOFD is only the seventh California fire district to produce the document. The audited report confirmed that the district ended the fiscal year with $17.8 million in revenue, $17.3 million in expenses and a $565,000 balance in its general fund.
Not revealed in the report, however, is the district's $45 million unfunded pension liability. "Those charges affect our liability," said director Steve Anderson. "Even though they are not required to be in our financials until next year, they should be publicized."
The Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association recently adopted new employer contribution rates for the pension plan. Effective July 1, 2015, the MOFD employer contribution rate will decrease from 80 percent to 71 percent of payroll. The new rate is projected to reduce the district's pension expense approximately $700,000 in fiscal year 2015-16, and to reduce its pension liability to $40 million.
Lafayette Emergency Services Task Force
The Moraga-Orinda Fire District and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District crafted agreements over the summer for the construction and operation of proposed fire station 46, an option for improved delivery of fire and emergency medical services to Lafayette. Both the Lafayette Emergency Services Task Force and the Lafayette City Council support the proposed station.
"Draft agreements from both sides are on the table, and both districts are on the same page," said ConFire assistant chief Lewis Broschard, addressing the task force at its Oct. 21 meeting.
As the group discussed ConFire's interest in acquiring the available county ambulance service contract in 2015, task force member Jim Cunha suggested that, in its request for proposals for the new contract, the county include the requirement that ambulances be allowed to cross district boundaries. Under the current ambulance contract, because MOFD would operate station 46 it could not be dispatched to medical calls in Lafayette, which is served by American Medical Response.
"We want to deliver fire-based ambulance service throughout the county," said Broschard. "If ConFire wins the ambulance contract, and if MOFD is the closest available unit to an incident, MOFD will get dispatched. We aren't concerned about boundaries; that's a profit issue. Our ambulances would be dispatched just like fire engines."
In an Oct. 23 letter to the Board of Supervisors, the task force requested a 30-day public comment period once the fire districts agree upon a common draft of the station 46 agreement and before the board considers it for approval.
The task force also requested, in a letter to Contra Costa County Health Services Department EMS director Pat Frost, that the ambulance RFP require that the winning vendor honor borderless boundaries and use a common communication system in the service area. "The closest available ambulance should always be dispatched, regardless of private compensation issues or other non-critical health related factors," the letter stated.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA