Ripon council voting on Ripon Fire tax costing city $12,002

The Ripon City Council — should they officially support the proposed Ripon Consolidated Fire District assessment by casting “yes” votes regarding ballots for 98 city parcels — will cost Ripon taxpayers and ratepayers $12,002 annually.

A decision regarding the ballots will be made during the Tuesday July 14, City Council meeting that takes place at 6 p.m.

Since 2020, the members of the Ripon City Council and RCFD Board of Directors Two-by-Two Committee have met multiple times to discuss funding options.

After consulting with municipal finance attorneys, the committee determined that a Proposition 218 assessment was the preferred funding mechanism because it:

*is lawful under California law for a special district to impose special taxes or assessments to increase revenue, such as a Proposition 218 Assessment.

*requires a 50% plus one vote to be enacted and the RCFD can elect when to have an election rather than having to align with a state election.

*levies to all parcels within the RCFD service area according to the benefit being provided.

*provides a revenue source that is reliable and less impacted by short-term economic downturns.

*has no impact to services provided by the City of Ripon, including police, parks maintenance, youth and senior programs.

The city’s annual assessment would include $8,454 taken from the general fund, $1,108 from the water fund, $33 from the garage fund, $2,201 from the sewer fund, and $205 from the street and road fund.

The proposed assessment will cost owners of single family homes in the fire district $249.98 more annually to increase the manpower availability to respond to medical emergencies, accidents and fires.

It will give the RCFD the ability to hire six firefighters for 24/7 staffing.

It will not only address the need for another engine company to respond when the district’s only staffed engine is already on a call — that happened 986 times during 2025 — but it can also reduce response times to calls in the northern part of the city and the eastern portion of the district.

That’s because having a manned engine company at the now shuttered North Ripon Road station will cut upwards of two minutes off response times in a large swath of the district.

The proposed assessment would generate $1,761,404 annually to fund the following specific service enhancement including $1,567,395 in staff cots for:

*Six additional firefighters to provide 24/7/365 coverage at the fire station at 1705 North Ripon Road

*Ongoing firefighter and paramedic training required by state and federal regulations

*Firefighter benefits including health insurance, workers' compensation, and retirement contributions.

It will also cover $59,484 in general operations for:

*Increased operational costs associated with running a second station

*Utilities, communications, and routine operational expenses

Apparatus and equipment operations costs of $69,093 for:

*Maintenance and repair of firefighting apparatus and vehicles

*Equipment necessary for reliable emergency response operations

*Replacement of specialized emergency response equipment

Special department expenses costs of $65,433 for:

*Department-specific costs related to enhanced operations

*Training programs and certification requirements

*Compliance with federal and state safety standards

There are no additional administrative costs included in the assessment budget.

Ripon Fire currently operates from one staffed station. Federal safety standards require four qualified personnel for interior firefighting operations, but current staffing often requires waiting for mutual aid to meet these requirements.

In 2025, the District experienced 986 concurrent calls where the single engine company was already responding to one emergency when another call occurred. At times this resulted in a delayed response due to waiting for another agency's engine to arrive to the call.

The proposed rates beyond single family homes on an annual basis are:

*$107.32 per unit in a multi-family complex.

$461.44 per half acre of commercial/industrial.

*$381.88 per half acre for office.

*$630.64 per half acre of storage.

*$33.02 per parking lot.

*$36.82 per vacant lot.

*$2.74 per non-irrigated agricultural land.

*$0.77 per acre of irrigated agricultural land.

*$1.59 per acre of range land an open space,

The official ballot notice and weighted ballot have been mailed to every property owner.

The public hearing and vote tabulation is Aug. 13.