Casting ballots in favor of the Ripon Consolidated Fire District parcel tax measure is seen by South San Joaquin Irrigation District management as a benefit for its employees in the event of a medical or occupational emergency.
The SSJID board when they meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the district office will decide how to cast ballots regarding seven parcels it owns within the fire district.
The total initial combined annual assessment would be $464.49.
Going forward, if the measure is adopted, there could be potential annual inflationary increases imposed by the fire board that can’t exceed 2.85 percent.
The SSJID management indicated the issue with concurrent calls — Ripon Fire had 985 of them in 2025 — means a SSJID employee needing emergency assistance would have a longer wait due to the RCFD having to get an engine company to respond in a mutual aid call.
The parcel tax would allow the staffing of a second engine company 24/7, which requires six firefighters.
The need for the additional engine is due to increased calls for service that has led to nearly 986 concurrent calls to 9-1-1 — meaning the department’s one engine company is already on another call another call comes in to dispatch.
The second engine would go a long way to reducing concurrent calls.
The reason that is important includes:
*time is of the essence for medical and fire calls.
*irreversible brain damage begins within four to six minutes of oxygen deprivation.
*fires double in size every 30 seconds.
*the only way to handle concurrent calls is to add a second fire engine company.
Relying on a mutual aid unit to respond from Escalon, Manteca, or Salida adds at least 15 minutes to response times once a call is dispatched.
There were 2,586 calls for service in 2025, an increase of 1,020 over 2014 levels and 203 over the 2024 call volume.
Of the 2,586 calls handled last year 1,780 were medical emergencies, 75 fires, service calls 192, good intent 334, special incidents 110, false alarms 75, and hazardous conditions 20.
The district had 986 concurrent calls in 2025.
There were 254 times when Ripon Fire responded to a mutual aid call or automatic aid call from a nearby agency.
There were 353 times that Ripon benefitted from a mutual aid or response from another jurisdiction.
It should be noted when Ripon is on a mutual aid call, there is no manned engine within the district.
The district has three fire stations, of which two are unstaffed.
Passage of the parcel tax will staff the North Ripon Road station. There are no plans to staff the Murphy Road station.
The main station on Stockton Avenue in downtown Ripon has a fire engine with a captain and an apparatus engineer plus an advanced life support ambulance with a paramedic and emergency medical technician.
The engine is not always staffed at the advanced life support level.
There is also a battalion chief and district administrative staff.
Revenue sources
The Ripon Consolidated Fire District is a special district.
As such, California law limits its revenue from very specific sources.
The district does not receive operating funds from the city or any sales tax.
Ripon Fire does receive 5.6 percent of every property tax dollar within district boundaries.
There is also a special assessment approved by landowners in 1985. It generates 0.3 cents per square foot for residential and 0.5 cents per square foot for commercial.
The 1985 special assessment is not indexed for inflation meaning it has gone unchanged for the past 41 years.
The district bills for ambulance transport serves at rates set by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. The rates are universal countywide regardless of whether an ambulance provider is for-profit, non-profit or a government agency.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
