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closeKP voters tab Jones, Hunt but reject FD 16 levy lid lift
Fire District Commissioner Bosch ousted; attention now on 2010 budget
Nate Hulings
of the Gateway
Key Peninsula voters partially reshaped the Fire District 16 Board of Commissioners last week and rejected a property tax increase for a levy lid lift.
Volunteer EMT Claudia Jones soundly defeated current FD 16 Commissioner Jim Bosch, who has served two terms on the board and has two sons who are chiefs within the district.
Voters also chose current Commissioner Sheila Hunt, who was appointed nearly two years ago, over Richard Hanna, a retired firefighter.
But Proposition 1, which would have raised property taxes 14 cents to $1.09 per $1,000 of assessed home value and generated an additional $350,000 in revenue, failed. More than 56 percent of voters rejected the proposition, which failed by nearly the exact same margin during the August primary election.
Jones secured more than 74 percent of the vote, defeating Bosch by more than 2,100 votes at last tally.
Multiple phone calls were placed to Bosch’s residence seeking comment, but messages were not returned.
Jones ran on the platform of moving past the infighting and reinstating integrity into the commission. Yet she said her margin of victory over a sitting commissioner was a shock.
“I had to sit down,” Jones said. “When they first brought it up on the computer screen, everyone gasped in the room.”
The win marked a level of trust from the community, Jones said.
“The people of the peninsula definitely put their faith and trust in me,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of gratitude that I ran.”
Shifting from celebrating to serious business, Jones said the fire district needs to maintain staffing levels and provide a high-quality service, which will require difficult decisions.
“There is going to be a cut in services,” she said. “I really do not want to lose personnel. We have a large community, and that is so going backwards.”
Despite the rough road ahead, Jones said fire district unity is the first step in forging a successful public service.
Her goal is to help “make sure the staff feels we are one; we are going for the same cause,” she said. “We can endure this economic deficit. We can get through this.”
Jones said one of her first moves as a commissioner will be to draft a resolution so she can continue to volunteer while she’s on the board.
“I intend on sticking with my volunteer status because of short staffing,” she said. “They are going to need personnel.”
In the Commissioner 4 race, Hunt defeated Hanna with 64 percent of the vote; a margin she attributed in part to her background with the department.
“I think it’s a combination of history of me being there for a year and a half and accomplishing positive changes,” she said.
Hanna, who ran on the issues of random drug testing and fitness levels, said he’s glad the election is over. He added that he’s through with fire district issues.
“I’m not going to have nothing to do with it,” he said. “Too many liars, not much to do.
“I look at things different than everyone else. If the good Lord wanted me in there to put a stop to it, He would have. The way things are going in this state, there isn’t much I could have done. It was probably for the best.”
Hunt said her focus will return to helping the district streamline its efforts to keep service levels at acceptable levels.
Hunt also hopes to help re-enact a citizen’s advisory board, which may help provide answers as to why the district’s levies continue to fail.
She said she’s glad voters have given her a chance.
“I’m very happy, of course, and I’m just thrilled that the voters chose me,” she said. “And I hope to perform well for them.”
Next step for FD 16 budget
The fire district’s 2010 budget was crafted without additional lid lift funding, but decisions still loom regarding service and personnel levels.
“Although I am disappointed in the failure, we will continue to move forward and provide the best service we can,” District 16 Fire Chief Tom Lique said.
Those services will not include the hiring of a firefighter/EMT in 2010, he said. The current firefighter/EMT position that sits vacant will be eliminated entirely, saving up to $80,000 annually after benefits are totaled.
Overtime and the ability to staff stations also are major concerns addressed in the 2010 budget.
Lique said election results prove, in part, that drug testing and fitness levels aren’t the only reason the levy lid lift failed.
“Mr. Hanna’s numbers should have been stronger, since these were key campaign points for him,” Lique wrote. “I feel the majority of the community is pro-fire department; we just have to prove to them we are worthy of their financial support.
“Our goal will be to demonstrate that we are making sound decisions with the community-entrusted resources.”
Lique also hopes to increase communication between the fire district and the residents it serves. Individuals or groups interested in speaking with department members need only to call and set up an appointment, he said.
Budget discussion
Key Peninsula Fire District 16 Commissioners will meet at 3 p.m. Nov. 24 at the Key Center headquarters for a public hearing on the 2010 budget.