Voters across Granite Bay and Loomis headed to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of Measure B, a proposed $375 annual parcel tax meant to replace a patchwork of fire fees that has left two local stations closed for years and crews stretched thin. The measure would create a single, uniform tax for single-family homes across South Placer Fire Protection District, replacing a mix of older parcel taxes and a separate Loomis benefit assessment that currently charge residents different amounts depending on where they live.
The ballot measure needs approval from at least two-thirds of voters to pass, according to CBS Sacramento. If approved, tax collection would begin in July 2027, per the same report. District materials posted by South Placer Fire District describe the measure as a way to generate an additional $2.5 million a year, bringing the district's total annual revenue to $5.75 million.
Under the proposed ordinance, the $375 flat rate would apply to single-family residential parcels, while multifamily properties would be charged $187.50 per dwelling unit and mobile home parks $187.50 per pad, according to the district's ordinance. The same ordinance provides for an inflation adjustment tied to the California Consumer Price Index, and directs the board to repeal the district's existing fire suppression assessments if the measure passes.
A Tax System That Has Not Been Touched Since the 1980s
The disparity between the two communities is part of what's driving the push for a uniform rate. District materials note that Loomis residents currently pay roughly $406 a year combined between an existing $130 parcel tax and a $276 benefit assessment, while Granite Bay residents pay just a $70 annual parcel tax that the district says has not been adjusted for inflation since it was set in the early 1980s.
That flat $70 rate sits at the center of the district's funding problem. The fire district has said it faces a budget shortfall tied to rising operating costs, flat property tax funding, unfunded state mandates, and local assessments that have not increased in roughly four decades, per a report from The Placer Sentinel.
Closed Stations and a Shrinking Workforce
The funding strain isn't new. Two South Placer Fire District stations, including Station 19, closed starting in late September 2022 because of budget constraints, The Sacramento Bee reported at the time, with district officials citing operating costs that had grown faster than the district's revenue.
Staffing has taken a steep hit since then. Chief Darin Snedeker told CBS Sacramento the district has lost 112% of its workforce over the past six years, including 68% of its firefighter-paramedic ranks, and said remaining firefighters are working an average of 72 or more hours a week because of the vacancies. Snedeker has warned that without additional revenue, the district could face further station closures, which he said could increase response times for fire and medical emergencies.
The district did get some short-term help earlier this year. In January, South Placer received a $750,000 SAFER grant to temporarily fund three new positions for three years, according to The Placer Sentinel's report — though after that period, the district would be responsible for covering those positions on its own.
Supporters and Skeptics Make Their Case
Supporters of Measure B say the added revenue would help the district attract and retain emergency responders, improve response capabilities, and reopen the two shuttered stations, establishing a more uniform funding system for both communities. The ordinance itself lists maintaining equipment, recruiting and retaining responders, reopening closed stations, and training among the intended uses of the new tax revenue.
Opponents have pushed back, questioning whether the district actually needs more tax revenue and how its current funding has been managed, per CBS Sacramento's reporting. It's a skepticism with some history behind it: a 2022 South Placer benefit assessment proposal was unsuccessful, according to The Placer Sentinel.
District leaders have pointed to a cautionary example close to home. South Placer Fire District materials note that the neighboring Newcastle Fire Protection District recently consolidated with the Placer Hills Fire Protection District after running out of money and being unable to operate in a way that kept its community safe.
Parcel-tax fights for fire funding aren't unique to Placer County. In Pasadena, voters this cycle also weighed Measure PFD, which would levy an annual tax of 19 cents per square foot of improved property, with exemptions for low-income homeowners, according to the Los Angeles Times. That measure also requires a two-thirds majority and would expire after 14 years if approved.
