Kern grand jury suggests studying fire authority

BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
cedelhart@bakersfield.com | Monday, Jun 13 2011 06:53 PM

Last Updated Monday, Jun 13 2011 06:55 PM

The Kern County grand jury Monday recommended that the county study whether it would be more efficient and cost effective for local firefighters to operate under the supervision of an independent fire authority board instead of the county Board of Supervisors.

Kern County Supervisor Ray Watson said he believes creation of a fire authority is something worth looking at given that there have been competitive issues between Bakersfield city and Kern County fire.

Officials should look at whether there is any duplication of services, and how things have worked for other communities that have merged fire services, he said.

An Ad Hoc Committee of the grand jury interviewed the chief, deputy chiefs and other fire department personnel, and talked to officials in Irvine to see how the Orange County Fire Authority works.

In Kern County, according to the grand jury report, there are three local fire services: the Bakersfield City Fire Department, with 14 stations; the California City Fire Department, with one station; and the Kern County Fire Department, with 46 stations.

Kern County Fire Chief Nick Dunn said he thinks the idea is at least worth studying.

"It's the first step on a long journey," he said, but could potentially be "a move to see about becoming more fiscally stable."

Bakersfield City Fire Chief Douglas Greener said it's hard to say whether fire authorities are a good idea without further analysis.

"What I can say is that they are very similar to special districts that have independent boards, which is another layer of government," he said.

Greener added that when grand jury members spoke with him, they emphasized that they were talking solely about whether the county should study a county fire authority. The city, at this point, is not part of the equation, he said.

At some point, the grand jury's recommendation will be formally put before the Board of Supervisors for consideration, but it's not been scheduled yet.

The board would then decide whether to move forward with a study.

-- Californian government editor Christine Bedell contributed to this report.

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x2131986997/Kern-grand-jury-suggests-studying-fire-authority