County Board to Consider Fire Protection Tax Increase

The County Board of Supervisors will consider at its Tuesday meeting whether to tax county properties an extra $4.87 per year for fire and emergency services.

Currently property owners in areas like Altadena that are serviced by the County Fire Department pay an annual $56.17 to go towards firefighting services.  The fees date back to 1991 and voters approved an increase in 1997, according to this Los Angeles Times article.

Proposition E, which was passed in 1997, sets the maximum rate at which households can be taxed and the Board of Supervisors is allowed to tax up to that rate with the consent of an independent oversight committee, according to the Board of Supervisor's staff report.

Passing the increase would mean that for next year's tax bills, the board would be taxing at the highest level it is permitted - last year, the Board did not do that, according to the report.

Still, even with the increase, the Consolidated Fire Protection District, which the tax funds, is projected to run a $16 million deficit, according to the report.

The full staff report can be viewed at right.