But they still have to PAY 2012 – 2013!

CAL FIRE Corrects SRA Maps 12,000 Acres Removed From CAL FIRE Protection Tax Billing #CALFIRE #CaFire

Posted: 11 May 2013 09:37 AM PDT

May 10, 2013 – On May 8, the California Board of Forestry approved changes proposed by CalFIRE that remove more than 12,000 acres of land from the State Responsibility Area (SRA).

Spurred by the numerous petitions for redetermination from structure owners billed for the SRA fee, CalFIRE and Board staff began an in-depth, focused review process late in 2012 to investigate and possibly change the official boundaries of the SRA. During this review process, CalFIRE took input from various stakeholders – including RCRC – at Board of Forestry committee meetings to ultimately propose several changes to the current SRA lines.

As a result of the review, approximately 4,660 acres of land will be added to the SRA, while 17,502 acres will be removed, for a net of 12,842 acres subtracted from current SRA lands. The most common reasons for removal of lands from the SRA were cited as greater population/home density, conversion to agricultural uses, and incorporation of some areas.

 The new SRA boundaries will be used to determine SRA fee billing for the 2013-14 fiscal year, and owners of habitable structures in the land removed from the SRA will not receive a bill in 2014. The proposed changes were unanimously approved by the Board.

To view the changes to SRA lands, visit CalFIRE’s website:

http://frap.fire.ca.gov/projects/sra_review/sra_review_2013.html

California Farm Bureau Federation

http://www.cfbf.com/sra/

A law signed by Gov. Brown last year imposes an annual fee assessed to rural residents living in “State Responsibility Areas.” The charge per habitable dwelling is supposedly to cover fire prevention services. The California Farm Bureau Federation, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and other organizations believe that this fee places undue burden on rural residents.

Farm Bureau members are encouraged to visit the state website at www.firepreventionfee.com, where they can find information about the fee as well as a protest form, titled “Petition for Redetermination.” Within 30 days of submitting the fee payment, those who object to the fee should fill out the petition and submit copies to each of the following:

• Special Taxes Remittance Processing, State Board of Equalization, P.O. Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-6199

• Fire Prevention Fee Service Center, Attn: Petitions, P.O. Box 2254, Suisun City, CA 94585

• Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, P.O. Box 944246, Sacramento, CA 94244

Cite the reason for protest as “Other.” The description can include the member’s concern about the fee and illegal taxation.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a lawsuit to challenge the legality of the SRA fee. To learn more, visit  firetaxprotest.org.

Below is a sample letter for reference when protesting the fee:

Special Taxes Remittance Processing, State Board of Equalization
P.O. Box 942879
Sacramento, CA 94279-6199

Fire Prevention Fee Service Center
Attn: Petitions
P.O. Box 2254
Suisun City, CA 94585

Board of Forestry and Fire Protection P.O. Box 944246 Sacramento, CA 94244

RE: Strong Opposition to SRA Tax-Paying under Protest!

DATE

To Whom It May Concern,

We are only paying this tax (you call it a fee) under duress of a state tax lien and possible property confiscation.

We strongly oppose and protest paying any Fire Prevention Taxes issued by the State Board of Equalization (BOE) on behalf of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).

This is an unconstitutional tax because Article XIIIA of the California Constitution requires that new taxes be approved by two-thirds of the membership of both houses of the Legislature. Because the money from this charge will not be redirected to local jurisdictions proportionate to their direct charge, there is no way to ensure that I will receive any direct benefit from the payment of this bill. Thus, this charge is a tax, and because it has not been properly approved by two-thirds of the Legislature, it is illegal.  We intend to support any legal action(s) taken by any organization(s) opposing this illegal taxation.

Paid Under Protest,

NAME

California Political Review

April 16, 2013  By Wayne Lusvardi

The $89 million annual fire prevention fee imposed on rural Californians for the first time last year could, ironically, increase the chance that their houses will burn down in the event of a fire. The $135-$150 per home annual assessment, which critics believe is a tax, is having the perverse effect of making it more difficult for local fire districts to increase revenue in order to provide adequate fire protection.

That’s what has happened in the Placer Hills Fire Protection District, which covers 35 square miles in rural Placer County in the Auburn area. Ten years ago, the district placed a tax hike on the ballot, which passed easily with 73 percent of the vote. But when the district went back to the voters last November seeking an additional $83 per home annually to keep both of its fire stations open, it garnered only 53 percent of the vote, well short of the two-thirds needed to pass.

The voters who rejected it gave two reasons: 1) They had already paid $135 to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, not realizing that Cal Fire is a separate entity from the Placer Hills fire department and that it’s possible that none of that money would directly result in increased safety for their home. 2) They felt they couldn’t afford to pay the total of $218 for two fire tax hikes in the same year.

That was the bad news from Placer Hills Fire Chief Ian Gow, speaking to the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committeeon Tuesday in support of SB 17 by Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, which seeks to repeal the fire fee.

Fire fee ‘decimates’ local protection

“All of us [California fire districts] are struggling financially,” said Gow. “That’s not a secret. My department has lost 12 to 15 percent of its budget over the last five years. That equates to two full-time fire positions. I only staff two fire stations. The likelihood of closing a station is very high. The problem there is that it could double our response times. As you may imagine, for fire departments the quicker we can get there is everything. If I have to close a station due to budget losses, I’m in deep trouble and my constituents are. So the inadvertent effect of this fire fee is to decimate local government’s ability to protect itself.

“The other two problems with the fee is that it doesn’t improve fire protection at all in my fire district. It does nothing to help us. Our citizens see it as double taxation. And, frankly, maybe a smaller effect, but I think it damages all of our reputations. It looks like we don’t know what we are doing from my level, with respect, up to yours. So we have real problems with this fee and we’d love to see it go away.”

Despite Gow’s testimony, SB 17 failed, gaining only three aye votes from the nine-member committee.

“I am extremely disappointed that the committee failed to pass this bill,” said Gaines in a press release. “It was an opportunity to make things right with the 825,000 Californians stuck paying the illegal tax. I would like to thank all of the constituents who came from across the state to testify in support of the bill. Their messages and testimony were impactful and made a difference. I vow to continue fighting this in every way possible and encourage those who have gotten stuck paying this phony fee to get in the arena and fight it too.”

The California Fire Chiefs Association has endorsed SB 17. Also on hand to support SB 17 were a half-dozen fire chiefs and officials from Camp Pendleton, Laytonville, Vacaville, and San Diego and Sacramento counties, along with scores of taxpayers wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Burned by the Fire Tax!”

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the fire assessment. HJTA representative David Wolfe told the committee that the fee is actually a tax because it does not provide a direct benefit to those paying it. If the court decides it is in fact a tax, then it would have required two-thirds to pass in the Legislature, which the enabling legislation, AB X1 29, did not receive due to strong Republican opposition.

Desert, condo examples show unfairness of tax

“We believe it can’t possibly be a legitimate fee because there is no direct benefit,” said Wolfe. “Just a couple of examples of plaintiffs in our lawsuit. There’s one individual who lives in a mobile home park in the middle of the desert with no landscaping around the mobile home park. And yet he has to pay the tax. There’s another individual, a property owner who lives next door to a casino. The homeowner has to pay the tax, but the casino does not. How is that fair?”

Read more:

 http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/ca-fire-chiefs-warn-fire-tax-will-hurt-not-help/?utm_source=CAPoliticalReview.com&utm_campaign=2643af1d0a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Thank you to everyone who attended the hearing on Tuesday supporting SB 17, Senator Gaines’ bill to repeal the fire tax.

While SB 17 failed to advance at this time on a 4-3 “no” vote with two abstentions, our strong showing gained the attention of the Sacramento Bee.  SB 17 also gained the support of Democratic Senator Noreen Evans, who joined Republican committee members Senator Anthony Cannella and Senator Jean Fuller in support of the bill.

The fight to stop the illegal fire tax is only just beginning with more legislative and legal actions ahead on the road to repeal.  Your activism is making a difference!

Thank you again for standing with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in opposition to the fire tax.

To view more photos of our activism for SB 17 click here to visit an album we posted to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Facebook page.

Signed,
Jon Coupal
President
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Controversial-rural-fire-fee-bills-will-be-delayed-4371496.php#ixzz2Ohgq8e65

From Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association:

Back in October, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed our lawsuit arguing the fire tax, which has impacted over 800,000 California property owners, was an illegal violation of Prop. 13.  Now, the Courts have cleared our lawsuit to be served on the defendants.

Earlier this week, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association performed in-person service on Cal Fire, the Board of Equalization and Department of Justice with our important lawsuit.

Completion of service marks critical forward progress in our fight to have the fire tax declared illegal in court and refunds issued to rural residents burdened with this costly tax increase.

However, the length of time between filing the suit and getting the green light to serve the suit on defendants illustrates how slow lawsuits move in California’s backed-up judicial system.  We are excited to see forward movement, but we also urge taxpayers to be prepared for a long legal process.

We will let you know as soon as a hearing date is scheduled or any other major developments occur.

Letter to the editor

This website is to be commended for bringing to light the abuse and mismanagement of public entities such as the Cal Fire scandal of illegally hiding 3.66 million of taxpayer’s monies that were funds to be used for fire prevention.

As this criminal act was occurring, the California State Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed into law a so called fire fee imposing a one hundred fifty dollar tax on 800,000 rural property owners in California when the Department of Forestry and Fire protection reportedly already has a 2013-14 budget of 1.2 billion dollars.

Cal Fire, once a respected agency, has become a bloated, monster military type agency who changed their name in the 1990s from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection thereby costing tax payers millions. Many of Cal Fire employees are now dressed in black and carrying guns.

Cal Fire now has, believe it or not, approximately eight thousand employees and is cousin to several other agencies also sucking up your hard earned tax dollars as you are out trying to make a living for your family.

As you are trying to make ends meet and still pay the fire tax and other taxes how does your job compare with an assistant chief’s job who works for Cal Fire who in 2010 was reported to have earned $128,494 dollars per year plus benefits and could retire with a generous pension at 50 years old?

Cal Fire is a department of the California Resources Agency, a state cabinet-level department that also comprises the California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Fish and Game and the California Department of Water Resources.

If you recall in 2007, Cal Fire’s cousin, the State Department of Parks and Recreation, was fraudulently pleading that they did not have enough funds to operate the State parks and was insisting that the Legislature approve the closure of 70 state parks because of a severe budget shortfall while all the time squirreling away 54 million in available funds.

During this time of their manufactured crisis, the Parks Department Director Ruth Coleman while trying to obtain more of your hard earned tax dollars testified to the Legislature about the need to close the 70 parks and lay off agency staff. She has since resigned and placed the blame on senior administrative employees, while insisting that she did not know about the secret special funds accounts.

It gets worse. The two-thirds majority in both the Assembly and Senate won by democrats during November’s election gives them the power to increase taxes, pass legislation and override Brown’s veto if any.

If the fire tax is ruled unconstitutional, and it will be at some point in time, the California State Legislature at Brown’s request will enact and pass legislation to insure that it is a tax and the Howard Jarvis lawsuit will become moot. The existing fire tax assessment may even be raised.

More bad news—As the result of this illegal tax, the state is already gearing up to send out the 2012-13 bills beginning in March 2013 and, according to reliable sources, the IRS has issued an opinion that the so-called fire prevention fee is not deductible.

So far this session lawmakers in Sacramento have introduced 2,189 bills for this year’s session and again we, the taxpayers, will be the victims.

The cesspool in Sacramento stinks and must be drained if California is to survive. The outlook is grim.

William J. Prater

P. O. 23 Clipper Mills CA.

675-2678

As your taxpayer advocate and elected member of the California State Board of Equalization, I’m fighting to protect your rights and bring about fair tax policies that help grow our economy and jobs. As always, I welcome your ideas about how we can work together to solve the problems facing our state.

- GEORGE RUNNER

Fire Fee Controversy Grows

In recent weeks, CAL FIRE has drawn significant media attention and public scrutiny.

                        First, in response to questions from the Los Angeles Times, CAL FIRE was forced to admit the existence of a secret $3.66 million slush fund. These dollars, which came from legal settlements, were supposed to go into the state’s general fund. Instead, CAL FIRE diverted these funds to a private non-profit and used them to pay for a number of questionable expenditures.

This unfolding scandal has drawn scathing editorials from a number of newspapers, including the Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, Orange County Register, Record Searchlight, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record and U-T San Diego. Senate Republicans have called for an independent investigation.

Second, as reported by the Sacramento Bee, CAL FIRE has been illegally diverting fire fee funds to pay for wildfire investigations. The Office of Legislative Counsel, which drafted the fire fee law, says CAL FIRE’s actions are unconstitutional because they do not provide a direct benefit to fee payers.

Last but not least, Governor Jerry Brown is proposing legislation that would redefine the fire fee as a tax. His proposal is aimed at allowing the administration to continue spending fire fee revenues in a manner that does not directly benefit fee payers. The proposal would require a 2/3rds votes. It’s unclear whether rural Democrats will support the Governor’s effort.

We’ve known all along that the fire “fee” is really an illegal tax. These latest developments only serve to underscore this truth.

And although the Governor may find these matters “boring,” I don’t. I doubt California taxpayers do either.

It’s time for greater accountability and transparency at CAL FIRE. It’s also time for the Legislature to repeal the fire “fee” by approving any or all of the pending legislative repeal measures: AB 23, AB 124 or SB 17.

Keep up with all the latest fire fee news by following Calfirefee.com on Facebook or Twitter.

PNP comment: Boy is this a political hornet’s nest. But from a layman’s perspective, I say that fighting fire has become BIG business. Makes big bucks for agencies fighting fires. There is tremendous waste. And, although I believe firefighters deserve a good wage — that is out-of-control as well.

In our area for many decades, the ranchers and then loggers fought the fires. They had the equipment and the know-how. Our forests were typically much less dense than they are now. The over-crowding of trees is way past natural, which creates extremely hot catastrophic fires. I could go on and on.

All I know is that the state Cal-Fire and state legislators and California Governor are trying to fill the state’s General budget and their salaries by creating “Fire Protection Fees” that are nothing but a lie. — Editor Liz Bowen

Associated Press

Redding.com

• Posted February 17, 2013 at 7:18 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — California officials are pushing hard— some say too hard — for money to recover the costs of fighting wildfires, The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/150cEka).

For the last eight years, the state has more aggressively gone after businesses and individuals it blames for starting wildfires, but now some of those targeted are pushing back, the newspaper said.

READ it:

 http://www.redding.com/news/2013/feb/17/california-officials-push-recover-cost-fires/?partner=newsletter_headlines

By Damon Arthur

Redding.com

• Posted February 8, 2013 at 10 p.m.

State officials said they plan to conduct an audit of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection finances in the wake of allegations the agency had set up a $3.6 secret fund in 2005.

The state Department of Finance and Joint Legislative Audit Committee will be looking into how Cal Fire’s wildland fire investigation training fund was set up and how the money in the account was spent, said Richard Stapler, a spokesman for state Natural Resources Agency.

READ it:

http://www.redding.com/news/2013/feb/08/state-to-audit-cal-fire-training-fund/?partner=newsletter_headlines