After three local fire districts called for up-front Measure Z payments to deal with recurring calls out of their response areas, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to meet them halfway.
Measure Z tax funds are normally distributed to local agencies as reimbursements for work already completed, with each agency having to provide proof of their work in order to obtain the money.
The board voted unanimously to make an exception to this policy on Tuesday by giving the Blue Lake, Kneeland and Willow Creek fire districts 20 percent of the nearly $253,000 in Measure Z funds allocated to them this year as an advanced payment.
However, several board members expressed concerns on whether they would be setting a precedent for future funding requests and how the tax funds are being used.
“The county can’t be the piggy bank for all of the other districts that have the ability to solve their own problems,” board Chairman and 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace said.
The countywide half-cent sales tax Measure Z was approved by voters in 2014 to fund public safety services. The tax brings in about $9 million per year and sunsets in 2020.
The three fire districts had requested the Measure Z funds to cover their responses to emergencies outside their districts, which mainly have occurred on State Route 299 and the Maple Creek areas.