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 "Understanding Public Employee Pensions" presentation to Orinda audience 6/21/2012 FAIR releases Orinda Road Facts web site FAIR response to MOFD President Weil's claim that others "fictionalized" facts What Are MOFD's True Assets and Liabilities? What was the purpose of the Orinda Fire Flow Parcel Tax? In 1997 MOFD promised to spend parcel tax money on pipes What else was promised to voters in 1997 and what have we received? WHAT IS FAIR? FAIR is a group of concerned citizens who are working to get the Orinda City
Council to conduct an objective and thorough investigation of MOFD (Moraga-Orinda Fire District) to determine if MOFD is being
equitably funded by Orinda and its partner Moraga and if MOFD can operate more efficiently, thereby freeing up limited property
tax dollars to address Orinda's major safety challenges: crumbling roads, storm drains, and a deficient water delivery system.
FAIR believes that such an investigation will show that: • Orinda is currently paying $1,200,000 more than its fair share of MOFD's funding costs. •
This inequity grows each year as Orinda's property tax base grows faster than Moraga's. •
Correcting the inequity would save Orinda about $20 million over the next decade! • Alternative service plans could triple those savings
and provide afordable service for Moraga. FAIR recognizes the quality and professionalism of MOFD firefighters. However, we are dissatisfied with MOFD management decisions which have made MOFD the most costly fire department in Contra Costa County, indeed among the most costly in the Bay Area! Cost effective alternatives maintaining quality service levels need to be examined.
COMPELLING FACTS • The average Orinda household's annual property tax bill for emergency services is $1,730; comparable tax bills
in Moraga and Lafayette are $1,070 and $870,
respectively. • Including the "fire-flow" parcel tax, Orinda pays 23.8% and Moraga 20.5% of their property taxes to MOFD;
the county average is 12%. By comparison, the City of Orinda receives only 7.4%
of the property taxes and the town of Moraga 5.3%.
• Orinda pays $11.5 million in property taxes each year to MOFD
for the 11 firefighter stationed in Orinda. This equates to $1,050,000 per firefighter. At the same time, Moraga pays $6 million for its 8 firefighters
which equates to $750,000 per firefighter. No one can explain why Orinda pays $300,000 more per firefighter
than Moraga. And this is increasing every year. • The MOFD annual
budget, over $19 million, is greater than the Orinda ($11 million) and the
Moraga ($6 million) budgets combined. It is also over three times what we pay for police services.
FAIR does not believe there is another community with this allocation of funds. • The over-funding of MOFD is a
result of increasing property taxes. Since 1997, when MOFD was formed,
Orinda's property taxes to MOFD have increased 134%. In that
same period inflation has gone up 43%. • 80% of all MOFD emergencies are medical calls requiring paramedics and EMTs; not necessarily firefighters. In 2009, MOFD responded to 1,673 medical incidents and 16 building fires.
The
average MOFD firefighter costs the district $250,000 per year. •
The administration of MOFD costs almost $4,000,000 per year. |
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3/14/2012 - Lamorinda Weekly - Letter responding to Weil comments 2/29/2012 - Lamorinda Weekly - Comments by MOFD's Weil 2/22/2012 - CoCo Times - CCCERA 2011 earnings announced 2/19/2012 - Dan Borenstein - MOFD Directors resign 1/20/2012 - CoCo Times - Fire District move dealt blow 1/18/2012 - CoCo Times - Editorial on MOFD purchase of new admin building 1/6/2012 - SF Chronicle - Pension plan study and impact on MOFD FAIR response to MOFD claim of no tax funding inequity - 12/7/2011 Lamorinda Weekly JOIN US! FAIR needs community support to effect change. Please email us by clicking below and add your name to the growing list of citizens who want EFFICIENT as well as effective emergency services and who want our city leaders to take action. |
Links to Informative
Material
Providing Emergency Services Efficiently and Effectively FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions Contact your elected representatives
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