For the second time in 2022, the Williams City Council voted to increase funding to the Williams Fire Protection District to help mitigate the high rate of inflation.
The council previously approved an $8,625 increase in July which raised the base annual contribution from the city from $449,987 to $458,612.
But Williams Fire Chief Jeff Gilbert said anticipated fuel costs have doubled from $20,000 (actual) in 2021-22 to $40,000 in 2022-23. Utility costs, workers compensation, and other expenses have increased as well, and grant funded firefighters – who currently make $15 minimum wage – must be raised to $15.50 beginning Jan. 1, which the fire authority will pay for.
“It’s the price of doing business,” said Gilbert, who explained the need for the additional funding at the City Council’s Aug. 17 meeting. “With the way the joint powers work, it’s not only increasing for the city but increasing the rural fire district’s budget to the authority.”
Due to inflation, the fire district revised its total 2022-23 budget from approximately $1.01 million to $1.13 million, of which $201,884 in revenue will be received from assessments to property owners within the fire protection authority boundaries, $224,713 will come from SAFER grant payroll reimbursements, and about $10,000 from fees for service.
The district’s requested increase of $68,792 from city coffers to the Fire Protection Authority is a 15 percent increase, which will bring the city’s total contribution to $527,404 for fiscal year 2022-23, of which $496,804 will come from the city’s general fund, $7,600 will come from Proposition 172 funding, $3,000 from the water fund, and $20,000 from the sewer fund, officials said.
Gilbert said calls for service from within the city limits account for about 75-80 percent of all calls.
The City Council voted to increase the WFPA budget without hesitation, and praised district officials for saving taxpayers’ thousands of dollars by paying off equipment financing early or by accessing grants, in addition to providing outstanding service to citizens.
Gilbert said since the mid-2000s, the district has paid off all equipment financed for 10 years within four years, and the district’s newest water tender was purchased with a grant from the Yocha Dehi Wintun Nation.
The fire protection district is also expected to soon deploy a basic ambulance unit, which is being donated to the authority by another agency, Gilbert said. ■