esidents of the San Pasqual Valley area, west of Ramona, overwhelmingly voted to repeal a more than 30-year-old parcel tax that funded fire prevention.
The measure to nix the levy was spearheaded by former members of the San Pasqual Volunteer Fire Department, which was taken over by the county in 2014.
“Why should we be paying for something that is no longer there, which is the volunteers?” said Steve Howerzyl, who served as the president of the board that oversaw the small fire department.
The department is now run by the San Diego County Fire Authority and Cal Fire, a change made nearly four years ago by a unanimous vote of the county Board of Supervisors following allegations that volunteer firefighters had repeatedly stolen water from a Poway fire hydrant.