Agenda - 11-17-2011 - 4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 On April 19, 2011 the Board of the County Commissioners approved the fire insurance changes and the approved maps were forwarded to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The Office of the State Fire Marshal approved the changes which became effective November 1, 2011. There are approximately 1,156 properties in Orange County located outside of six road miles from the closest fire station in their fire district and therefore have a fire insurance rating of 10. Approximately 900 of these property owners could be helped by the realignment of existing fire insurance districts. The process of moving a property from one fire insurance district to another to help the property owner secure a better fire insurance rating can be accomplished, but the result has raised issues of equal protection and property tax fairness for home owners. The realignment of frre insurance districts between Caldwell and East Orange was accomplished without any reallocation of Fire District Tax revenues. This may create legal issues as discussed by the attached County Attorney's memorandum dated September 1, 2011. On September 13, 2011 the Board was presented options for changing fire districts to improve insurance ratings for the 1,156 properties located outside of six road miles from the closest fire station located in their fire insurance district. The County Attorney's memorandum dated September 1, 2011 provides a legal opinion for fire protection tax districts, and the available options are listed below: 1. Realign Fire Insurance District boundaries without changing Fire Tax Districts. 2. Change existing Fire Protection Districts, which would also change the Fire Tax Districts. 3. Establish one or more Fire Service Districts to replace or overlay existing Fire Protection Districts which could also change Fire Tax Districts. Fire Department Contracts The realignment of the Caldwell Fire Insurance District and the East Orange Fire Insurance District has raised the question of the status of Fire Department contracts in Orange County. Most Fire Department contracts were last updated in 1992. Attached is the contract between the Caldwell Fire Department and Orange County dated May 18, 1992. With a few exceptions, most all fire contracts are identical to the attached contract for Caldwell Fire Department. The contract provides for basic fire protection and includes a provision for the Fire Department to provide budget and financial information to the County in exchange for levying a property tax rate in the district for the exclusive use of the Fire Department. All contracts renew automatically each fiscal year on the 1St day of July and continue in effect until terminated by either party, upon 365 days written notice to the other party. There are several important issues not addressed in the 1992 contract that would be included in anew contract with Orange County today, including but not limited to the following: • A detail description of fire protection services to be provided and standards expected by Orange County • The amount of Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance required • Requirements for an Annual Audit