Planned closing of fire stations comes as Merced County faces shortage of deputies

The recent decision made by the Merced County Board of Supervisors for the planned closure of two fire stations and the consolidation of multiple others, comes as the county continues to face a shortage of fire personnel and deputies.

Last November, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke addressed the board of supervisors about the pressing need for more deputies. Warnke said he was “ringing the alarm,” when providing an update during a 2023 board meeting on the state of the Sheriff’s Office staffing and operations.

On March 22, 2024, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office launched an online reporting system for non-violent crimes, as decreasing staffing levels made it difficult for deputies to respond calls. Reports which are not required to be filled out through the agencies online portal include reports of fraud and identity theft, forgery, vandalism, vehicle burglary, lost property, harassing phone calls, vehicle tampering, custody order violation and disturbing the peace.

According to the sheriff’s office, all theft reports will need to be filed online expect for motor vehicle or license plate thefts and theft of a firearm.

Warnke told The Merced Sun-Star in March that the online reporting of non-violent crimes was directly related to a decrease in staffing levels.

“I never thought in the 45 years I’ve been here that we would have to resort to doing something so impersonal,” Warnke said.

In April of this year, the County of Merced and the Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association reached a tentative agreement on a one-year contract, after the DSA rejected the county’s initial contract offer in late 2023.

According to DSA President Roberto Torres, the county and the DSA agreed to a one-year contract that includes a 10% base pay increase as well as a 10% increase to the medical cap. The agreement comes after the DSA rejected the county’s offer of an 8% wage increase and 10% increase to healthcare caps in September of 2023.

According to Torres, the sheriff’s office faces problems in both retention and recruitment, with some deputies leaving for agencies in neighboring counties.

The decision on the planned closure of two fire stations and consolidation of others comes after the County of Merced was notified by the California Department of Fire Protection in Feb. 2023, that it is must comply with Cal Fire’s staffing model requiring a minimum of two fire personnel on duty 24 hours a day, at all fire stations operated within the county.

In June of 2023, supervisors took action to add 12 full-time employees at all unincorporated Merced County fire stations at the cost of $2.9 million. According to Assistant County Executive Officer Marci Barrera at the May 9 board meeting, due to the action taken by the board in June, the fire fund has been exceeded with the county having an ongoing cost of $2.9 million from the general fund to support those fire services.

According to the county, it would cost an additional $3 million annually with an estimated one time start up cost of $13 million if the county were to end its contract with Cal Fire and create its own county fire department, exceeding that of what the county currently pays to contract Cal Fire.

Merced County applied for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response or SAFER grant, in 2023 but was not awarded the grant. According to the California State Firefighters Association, the SAFER grant is intended to enhance the ability of local fire departments to comply with response, staffing and operational standards.

During the May 9 board meeting, Board Chairperson Rodrigo Espinosa submitted a motion to delay the decisions for 30 days based on requests from residents for a town hall meeting to discuss the agenda items. His motion failed to pass by a decision of 2-3.

According Assistant Fire Chief for Merced County Fire Cal Fire, Mark Pimentel during Tuesday’s meeting, Merced County has been grandfathered in to maintain the two personnel staffing at the remaining fire stations as Cal Fire works to make sure its staff is efficient in providing services throughout the state of California.

All future agreements between Cal Fire and the County of Merced will be at a 3.0 staffing level model, similar to other fire departments throughout the state of California, according to Pimentel.

Pimentel said a recent national standard has increased the staffing to four personnel per fire apparatus.

“Right now we are just looking to get to the 2.0 staffing and start to eliminate the one person on an apparatus,” said Pimentel while addressing the board.

According to Pimentel, the County of Merced and the City of Merced have discussing a possible Auto Aid Agreement, and eliminate double efforts when responding to calls.

The firefighting effort is funded through Merced County property tax, making up roughly 93% of the revenue. The other roughly 7% of the county’s firefighting effort is funded through various grants and other revue generated by the fire department, according to Pimentel.

During a presentation to the board, Pimetel explained that over a five-year overview, the county’s fire expenditures has increased beyond the revenue generated from the property tax.

“The property tax percentage that goes to fire is not adequate to continue and provide adequate service for the county moving forward,” Pimentel said.

According to Pimentel, Cal Fire Merced County applied for a SAFER grant for 12 personnel last year, however they were unsuccessful. The county has submitted a SAFER grant application for 15 fire personnel, for a duration of three years with an estimated annual cost of $3.8 million. According to Pimentel, this would allow for the County of Merced and cities to continue discussions and develop some type of cost share.

According to Pimentel, Merced County currently has 19 stations covering just under 2,000 square miles, compared to Fresno County which has 15 stations covering an area of about 2,700 square miles operating under a 2.0 staffing model.