Grand jury report, Atherton fiscal review part of chief's report
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District's board will discuss the agenda for a strategic planning study session when it meets on Tuesday, July 24, at 7 p.m. in the classroom at the 300 Middlefield Road fire station. The open meeting will follow a two-hour closed session discussion of the contract with the firefighters' union.
The lack of a strategic study was criticized in a recent civil grand jury report on the district.
While neither the grand jury report nor Atherton's review of how property taxes generated in the town are spent by the district are on the agenda for discussion, they are mentioned in a report from district Chief Harold Schapelhouman. The fire board will be allowed to briefly discuss both items, but not to take any action on them.
The chief's report says that he, fire board President Chuck Bernstein and board member Virginia Chang Kiraly - the district's liaison to Atherton - attended the meeting at which the Atherton council discussed what the town could do about the disparity between the amount of property taxes generated in the town that go to the fire district and the amount the district spends providing services in Atherton.
That report discusses the steps Atherton would need to take to detach from the fire district or reallocate property taxes generated in the town.
The town has asked the fire board to schedule a joint meeting in December to discuss the report and a prior report on the revenue/spending disparity.
A Tuesday agenda item that could affect the talks between Atherton and the fire district is a request by board member Peter Carpenter to agendize discussion of a resolution stating that the "board shall not enter into agreements to share fire district tax revenues with other agencies unless approved by two-thirds of voters within the district."
The chief's report also mentions the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury report released on July 12.
The district has 90 days, or until Oct. 9, to respond to 10 recommendations in the report, including two that have to do with the district dropping negotiations with Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton and San Mateo County to adopt impact fees that would be charged to developers to help pay any costs of development to the district. The district has instead been negotiating directly with developers, something the grand jury report says "raises ethical issues."
July 23, 2018
The Almanac
By Barbara Wood
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