By Zoë Lane, special to Mentone Matters
County Supervisors approved a motion and a pair of amendments Monday assuring that voters will get a say on FP-5, the controversial Fire Tax that had been set to be entered onto the Tax Roll later this year. If enacted – without the consent of voters – property owners in Mentone and the surrounding areas would have seen a 3% increase on their 2019/2020 property tax statements, that is, a rise from $157.26 to $161.98.
According to Tom Murphy of the Red Brennan Group, which has been active in fighting the proposed Fire Tax, Supervisors Janice Rutherford (2nd District) and Dawn Rowe (3rd District, which includes Mentone) proposed key modifications to FP-5 which were approved by the Board at the meeting Monday.
Supervisor Rutherford’s motion amended FP-5 to state that 1) County staff will have 90 days to bring multiple options on how to fund County Fire, 2) Supervisors will decide which of the recommendations to place before the voters prior to January 1, 2021, and 3) FP-5 will then “sunset,” or no longer be in effect, after the solution approved by voters is implemented.
Supervisor Rowe’s proposed amendments to the motion disallowed the increase, and added the requirement that county staff must provide background material to justify claims associated with their proposed solution options, which they will present within 90 days.
A third motion was proposed by Supervisor Robert Lovingood (1st District) that would have put all fire funding to a vote under Proposition 218, and kept Fire funding on the General Fund. Lovingood’s motion was not seconded, however, and therefore was not approved.