The previous links are all good information. What remains interesting to me is that here we pay a 'fire fee.' There aren't earthquake fees or flood fees. Perhaps on our property tax bills as a bond.. but otherwise there are not. Nor, are there 'wind fees' in the Santa Ana's wind prone areas. All of which cause a lot of damage to property and often cost lives. And, all of which our firefighters are required to deal with on an annual basis.
I have not formally protested the fire fee. I do write 'paid under protest' on my check. I remain annoyed that the monies do not go to hiring more firefighters. I do understand that clearing forests is important. CalFire cited the property next to me over a year ago. I reported it several times before that citation. Nothing has been done to clear it.
As I type, I'm having some of the trees .. that are actually outside of my property line and on county property ,, trimmed. I'm having one dead one dug out. The County will never miss it.
I guess it's a question of how our federal/state/local officials allocate the budget monies available to them. I can't think of a better priority than for our safety personnel across the board. They are our 'boots on the ground' here. I'm not dismissing all the other priorities for social services and assistance to other countries. But, they should stand in line too. Sheesh.. it just ain't easy is it? cheryl o7o
