Proposition A comments

Chief Stephen Abbott said most of the fire stations are near the end of their 50-year useful life. How is useful life determined? Have any professional studies been done on remodeling them? He said that the distance between the living quarters and the engine garage adds to response time. We may be talking about a few seconds – I doubt that increase in response time is significant. He indicated that the stations are not seismically up to current code. I am sure they can be brought up to meet the current code. He further indicated that the living quarters for sleeping, kitchen and exercise are inadequate. I do not know whether that pertains to size or condition. Again, has any independent professional review of these items been performed?

Separate the equipment needs from the facility issues to clarify the needs more fully.

Have any public review of salaries and benefits been performed? Compare salaries to other publically funded operations such water districts and public utilities. The firefighters and medical personnel should be properly paid but overly high wages coupled with very high retirement benefits are putting the pay scales out of line with reason.

One really disturbing item is that he said in the “NCFPD Journal” that the tax “with an initial appropriations limit of $20 million” seems to indicate that more taxes proposals are coming.

Having run several businesses with hundreds of employees, I do not believe this matter is being approached in a businesslike manner that Abbott has shown he is capable of. I fully recognize that the district is being under funded, but I do not believe Proposition A is the solution to resolving the funding problem.

I am a registered architect and structural engineer and have been in the business world for over 50 years and would recommend the district revisit its needs in a more professional manner.

Harry Stitle

Bonsall resident