Butte County reimburses remaining costs of fire district closure – Chico Enterprise-Record

OROVILLE — The El Medio Fire Station closed its doors at the end of 2020 after years of being unable to maintain a working capital balance.

The Butte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday completed the final phase of the dissolution of the El Medio Fire District by reimbursing remaining costs incurred during the district's final months.

Butte County Auditor-Comptroller Graciela Gutierrez presented the board with a series of items that consisted of final payments still owed by the county.

Supervisor Bill Connelly, whose district housed the fire station, made it clear that the county itself did not close the station.

“It was the decision of their own independent board,” Connelly said. “The county authorities were in no way directly responsible for the properties owned by El Medio. It was their administrators, their agreement, their board of directors, not us. I'm getting calls about this, and I just want to make sure everyone knows that for 12 years I helped them get grants and those ran out, so this is one of the reasons why they gave up.

Although the board does not control the district, the Local Agency Creation Commission named the board of supervisors as the district's successor agency.

According to the corresponding staff report, the district had a remaining fund balance of $672,516. The first claim Guiterrez submitted was from the City of Oroville and consisted of a disputed invoice for approximately $250,000 for services provided.

“Just to give a little bit of history, in the services report I had to look at all the assets, we tracked them all down and made sure there were no assets left, then we looked at the liabilities ” Gutierrez said. “The City of Oroville had an outstanding claim at the time of the dissolution of the El Medio Fire District Council, they did not pay that outstanding claim and without their authorization I could not pay it.”

Connelly opted to split the disputed bill so that half would go to district residents, but it was ultimately rejected. Gutierrez noted that funds left after bills are paid could be used to reimburse residents.

The city of Oroville received its payment and the Butte County Fire Department received approximately $225,000 for services rendered. Finally, $768 was paid to Best, Best and Krieger.

Other business

In addition to approving outstanding payments resulting from the closure of the El Medio Fire District, the board considered the following:

• The council unanimously approved the Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility Master Plan as well as specific rate increases for tipping fees at the landfill.

• Discussion was held about a potential sediment removal project at the Five-Mile Recreation Project to reduce flooding risks in Chico.

• The board gave authorization to the Butte County Fire Department to purchase a Type I fire truck in the amount of $1,090,910, including $600 from the Department of Community Facilities Grant. Agriculture and the remainder from the department's equipment replacement fund.