Property owners served by the Capay Valley Fire Protection District firefighters and first responders will be receiving a ballot in the mail in early July asking for your vote on a property assessment that will provide for continued and improved fire protection and emergency response services.

Capay Valley Fire Protection District is funded by a portion of property taxes, with additional support from Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The firefighting roster includes 17 volunteers, and a part-time paid firefighter who works three days a week. An additional part time paid employee performs administrative office duties and basic maintenance of facilities, equipment, and vehicles.

Aside from daily operations and maintenance, the District must plan for regular equipment replacement, building repairs, and improvements. When operating costs and an annual contribution to these infrastructure needs are taken into account, the District is operating at an annual deficit to provide the current staffing and level of service. Though District income is not limited to only secured property tax and tribal revenues, the uncertainty of relying on grant funding and strike team revenue makes it difficult to budget for longer-term goals. 

If it passes, the proposed property assessment will be added to your property tax bill.  All the funds raised in the Capay Valley Fire Protection District will be used directly to support the District and whatever is raised in the District will be matched by Yolo County.

The increased funding would sustain District operations in the following key areas:

1. Staffing: The District is currently majority volunteer staffed. Only three of those volunteers are currently available to respond regularly during weekday work hours, and volunteer staffing is highly variable on the weekend due to family trips, youth sports, or other special events. The proposed assessment will pay for an on-duty paid firefighter from 8-5, seven days a week to augment volunteers. The proposed assessment will also increase funding for “Reserve Firefighters” – essentially firefighter interns. The Reserve program is in use all over the country and is a creative way to improve staffing while giving valuable job experience to those who want to build their resumes for a paid position with a larger agency.
2. Training: The proposed assessment will dramatically increase the District’s annual training budget, from $5,000.00/year to almost $15,000.00/year, providing each firefighter the opportunity to get important offsite training in addition to the regular in-house training that the District provides. The assessment will also provide $4,000.00/year in financial support for the non-firefighting volunteer group known as CVERA (Capay Valley Emergency Response Auxiliary). These volunteers have already been educating residents in best practices for a number of emergency situations they may face in the Capay Valley.
3. Equipment maintenance and replacement: The proposed assessment will increase the District’s annual budget for apparatus replacement from $30,000.00 to the $136,000.00 which is necessary to replace apparatus on a 20-25-year timeline. Funding will also be set aside for annual preventive maintenance of engines, radios, and other essential equipment.
4. Facilities: Deferred station maintenance was one of the few deficiencies recently identified in the District by the Yolo Local Agency Formation Commission. If the proposed assessment passes, the District will set aside approximately $15,000.00 per year to address upgrades or significant repairs on a 10-year timeline, as well as overhauls which may be needed every 20 years for the three stations.

The Capay Valley deserves rapid response to emergencies by well-trained firefighters using up-to-date equipment. The proposal has been endorsed by the following local organizations. 

Click on the following link to download the engineers report: