Rough and Ready, CA—The public is invited and encouraged to attend a Rough and Ready Fire District Consolidation/Merger Committee, Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, February 22, 6:00PM at the Rough and Ready Fire Department, 14506 Rough and Ready Highway.
The purpose of the meeting is to inform residents of a serious financial shortfall that is impacting service. R&RFPD/PVFPD Consolidation Committee members, Board of Directors from both Penn Valley and Rough and Ready Fire Districts and Nevada County District 4 Supervisor Sue Hoek will be available to hear concerns and respond to questions.
The Rough and Ready Fire Protection Board of Directors have explored various avenues to attract additional funding, including requesting financial support from Nevada County. To date, no funding has been secured. For the past nine months Rough and Ready Fire and neighboring Penn Valley Fire Protection District have been exploring consolidation. Significant financial shortfall may diminish the viability of consolidation as an option. The Rough and Ready Board are now looking at a number of scenarios, including the possibility of dissolving the fire district.
Rough and Ready Fire Protection District is a Special District. The majority of funding for Special Districts comes from Parcel Tax Assessments and a percentage of a 1% Ad Valorem from Secured Property Taxes collected by the County. In addition, Nevada County is one of only six counties in the state of California that also share a percentage of Prop 172 funds with local fire districts.
Discussions about who will respond to emergencies in Rough and Ready Fire Protection District are ongoing and include local fire districts as well as District 4 County Supervisor Susan Hoek and S.R. Jones, Executive Director of Nevada County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCo.)