League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Mendocino County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Measure M Special Tax Albion/Little River Fire Protection District 2/3 Approval Required Pass: 693 / 82.60% Yes votes ...... 146 / 17.40% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure M	Arguments Against Measure M
As a 100% volunteer fire department, your neighbors in the Albion Little River Fire Protection District donate their time to train and respond to over two hundred incidents per year. The present special assessment was enacted by voters in 2002. Since then, inflation has substantially reduced our buying power. Current revenue is a fraction of what many paid departments allocate for one single career firefighter and this money is spread thin to cover all aspects of fire response including engines, water trucks, rescue vehicles, medical supplies, hazmat equipment, station maintenance, training, fire science classes, fuel, insurance, hose, ladders, personal protective equipment, radios, pagers, auto extrication tools and water supply. We currently maintain stations on three ridges in five locations, which assists district residents with emergency protection and helps property owners acquire fire insurance. Studying Albion Little River, the June 28, 2005 Grand Jury stated "The portion of property taxes allotted to rural fire districts has not increased since 1956, although the cost of district operations continues to rise." The most important responsibility of a fire-rescue department is to be prepared for a response of any type at any time. Without passage of Measure M, we will have to make painful decisions; it will not be possible to maintain present capabilities, further increasing the contrast of available services and reliability across district lines. Measure M would assess (presently exempt) non-residential timber and range land and increase total revenue to approximately $258,000, placing superior tools in the hands of first responders and offering greater protection for residents. When weighing the added tax burden, residents should contemplate what types of resources they want available to their families should they call 911. We're calling on you so you can call on us: Vote Yes on Measure M. Please visit http://www.citizensforyesonmeasurem.com s/Ted R. Williams Ted R. Williams Chief, Albion Little River Fire Protection District s/Chris Skyhawk Chris Skyhawk Board Member Albion Little River Fire Protection District	No arguments against the measure were received.

Full Text of Measure M

ORDINANCE NO. 04-19-14 Whereas, Government Code Section 53978 and article XIIIA of the California Constitution authorizes the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District to determine and levy a special tax for fire protection, suppression, prevention, and related services; and Whereas, at its meeting on April 9, 2014, the Board of Directors of Albion-Little River Fire Protection District set the time and place for consideration of adoption of such ordinance as May 14, 2014, at 7:00 P.M., at the Albion-Little River Fire House, Albion, CA 95410; and Whereas, A proposed tax, for all units, of the special tax per year shall be assessed on all real property (except that of Federal, State, or Government agencies or other property which is exempt from taxation) within the boundaries of said Albion-Little River Fire Protection District. The tax shall be used to maintain and improve the current level of fire protection, prevention, suppression, emergency medical, hazardous materials response, search, and rescue service. In addition, the increase will be directed toward procurement, equipping, operating, and maintaining equipment, and for the purpose of paying salaries of personnel or any related services. The Board of Directors of the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District shall establish charge(s) from time to time, subject, however, to the maximum units of tax herein. EACH UNIT OF SPECIAL TAX SHALL NOT EXCEED $75.00 EACH FISCAL YEAR; and Whereas, the tax shall be collected in the same manner provided by statute for the collection of property tax; and Whereas, each year prior to the imposition of said tax, the District's Board of Directors shall cause a report to be prepared, showing each parcel, the owner(s) thereof, and the proposed levy thereon. At said meeting the Board of Directors shall make such corrections to the tax proposed to be levied as may be required to conform to the fees as set forth herein; and Whereas, if a two-thirds voter approval is cast, the special tax will become effective concurrent with the 2015/2016 Property Tax billing cycle with a rate of $75.00 per unit; and Whereas, if any section, subsection, sentence, phrase or clause of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the Ordinance. The Directors of the District here declare that they would have adopted the Ordinance and each section despite the fact that one or more section, subsection, phrases or clauses be declared invalid; Now Therefore Be It Resolved, that the foregoing uniform schedules and rates, attached hereto as Exhibit 1, shall be applied to the parcels within the District; and Be It Further Resolved, that this ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its confirmation by the voters in the District. Special tax increase must be approved by two-thirds vote of the voters of the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District at the special election held on November 4, 2014. Passed and Adopted by the Board of Directors of the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District on June 11, 2014, by the following vote: Riley: Yes Canclini: Yes Roat: Yes Levine: Yes Skyhawk: Yes MEASURE M + continued President: s/Richard Riley Date: 6/11/2014 Richard Riley Secretary: s/Scott Roat Date: 6/11/2014 Scott Roat Exhibit 1 + Special Fire and Rescue Tax The Special Fire and Rescue Tax is based on a maximum of $75.00 per unit. A unit is defined as the billable measure. The Board of Directors of the Albion-Little River Fire Protection District has assigned a number of units to each type of property usage based on relative fire risk. Schedule of Parcel Units Type of Property Number of Units Residential Unimproved 1: Improved 2 Institutional and Miscellaneous 3 per Improved Parcel Retail Stores, Office, Wholesale Outlets Nursery, Light Manufacturing 3 Restaurants 6 Service Stations 5 Hotels 2 + ½ per Room Trailer Parks & Modular Homes 2 + 1 per Residence Non-Residential--- Timber Production, Forest Land, Range Land 30 Acres per Unit Properties with more than one usage will be taxed at the cumulative number of applicable Units. The Board will assign unit values to new usage codes as required.