A reader commented on my April 23 report on the California Fire Prevention Fee, according to a report from the Board of Supervisors.
The reader questioned where the fees would go, potentially to a new state agency, and questioned how much of the fee would go for administrative costs.
I reviewed the web page for the fee (http://www.firepreventionfee.org/ , and then spoke to the Media Office for CalFire. They reported that the fee is collected by the California Board of Equalization (the state’s tax and fee collection agency). The board is authorized to determine the administrative costs of collecting the fee and deduct those costs, which are expected to be a small amount. The balance is delivered to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as CalFire.
CalFire’s budget was reduced by $85 million in General Fund dollars in the 2011/12 fiscal year. The Fire Prevention Fee was instituted in the 2011/12 fiscal year. So far, it has generated an amount that is not quite $85 million but is getting close. The funds must be used specifically for fire prevention activities in the State Responsibility Area. These include such activities as defensible space education and home inspections; vegetation management projects; fire investigations; and others.
Thus, most of the money will go to CalFire. However, because of the reduction in general fund support of CalFire, the fee proceeds will not expand CalFire activities. They will allow CalFire to avoid reductions in prevention activities in the State Responsibility Area.
I was not able to determine the amount of administrative costs that CalFire will require from the fee. On the face of it, one would expect administrative costs to be no different than before the fee, since the funds are replacing state General Funds. However, CalFire has received more than 87,000 appeals to the fee, which may well result in more administrative costs.
CalFire has delayed sending bills for the 2012/13 fiscal year while they review all the appeals to be sure that they do not send fees to the wrong folks. Most of the appeals are probably objections to the constitutionality of the fee, but some will be claims that the billing is to the wrong person.
I appreciate questions or challenges to my accuracy. Send them along!
Catherine Camp is currently retired. She served as a Consultant to the California Senate Budget Committee in 2001-02, reviewing Social Services, Employment Development, Aging, Community Services, Alcohol and Drug Programs, Rehabilitation and Child Support budgets. From 1989-2000, Catherine was Executive Director for the California Mental Health Directors Association. During that period, Catherine staffed the county mental health system’s restructuring of public mental health through Realignment of community and long term care programs from the state to the county, transfer of the management of specialty mental health Medi-Cal services to those counties that agreed to provide them, development of risk mechanisms for consortia of small counties, and advocacy and policy analysis for the operation of public mental health programs throughout the state. Her prior experience includes Executive Director to the California-Nevada Community Action Association, Principal Consultant to the Assembly Human Services Policy Committee, and Director of Community Action and Head Start programs in Shasta County.
