Differences still smolder after fire district meetings By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review September 1, 2004 A series of meetings held Saturday between the Half Moon Bay and Point Montara fire protection districts failed to end in agreement on thorny financial and management issues that plague Coastside fire services. Nothing new came out of the daylong session of facilitated meetings, and both districts' boards seem to be as opposed to each other as ever before. The issues and concerns are the same and neither board has budged. The two districts formed a partnership in 1998 to ease financial burdens on each district. Now members of the Point Montara Fire Protection District want an investigation into mismanagement allegations at the Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District before they proceed with consolidation. The Half Moon Bay district, meanwhile, refuses to pursue any investigation. Point Montara's concerns with management and financial liabilities at Half Moon Bay continue to be the deal breakers for the majority of its board members, and without any progress on those issues it's hard to imagine Point Montara changing that position. "We're still screaming consolidation. But, without movement, a fiscal plan and a management plan, there's not going to be consolidation," said Bruce MacKimmie, president of Point Montara's board. "I don't think they're committed to fiscal responsibility and management accountability. It appears they're not willing to fix any problems, or even look at any problems, before consolidation." Because the Half Moon Bay district has provided services to Point Montara since 1998 through a management services contract, Point Montara's board has been reduced to a mostly ceremonial governing body that can only request action from its counterparts in Half Moon Bay. It's because of those significant disparities in governing power that Point Montara's board sent a letter formally terminating the contractual arrangement with Half Moon Bay in September 2005. Although the details are cloudy, it's appears that the Half Moon Bay board only began seriously considering consolidation in the last couple of years. Tim Moran, president of Half Moon Bay's board, says consolidation was the ultimate goal as early as 1998, when the contract between both districts was signed. But others say that wasn't the case. "They in no way, shape or form ever wanted consolidation," MacKimmie said. Fire Chief Jim Asche says it's obvious that consolidation was in the cards when labor from Point Montara was put into Half Moon Bay's district. MacKimmie fears Half Moon Bay's board is only now pursuing consolidation to get control of Point Montara's money without having to answer to Point Montara's board. "They want (Point Montara's) money so bad they can taste it," said Lane Lees, a former firefighter who has a pending lawsuit against the Half Moon Bay district alleging wrongful termination. Both boards do agree that one fire district would best serve the Coastside's needs, but most doubt that goal can be realized in the next year. "There's a lot of history and a lot of perceptions and facts that got us to this point," Half Moon Bay Director Dave Eufusia said. Half Moon Bay's board is pinning blame squarely on Point Montara's board for not formally committing to consolidation. Meanwhile, none of Point Montara's concerns have been addressed to a degree that is acceptable to its board members. "To me that just means you're not being accountable. And if you're not being accountable you have something to hide," MacKimmie said. "If you're innocent let's take a look at it. If you're hiding something there's a reason." With a pending lawsuit alleging mismanagement at the highest levels of Half Moon Bay's administration, Asche seems to have lost all trust from Point Montara's board. "I myself am not seeing any leadership out of Asche," MacKimmie said. Some residents have said Point Montara's board will settle for nothing less than Asche's ouster, but the board denies such a position. Asche also disregards that view, saying, "I have no evidence to suggest that's the truth." Either way it's clear that MacKimmie has issues with the management, and because the Half Moon Bay district voted against conducting an investigation into management, he has little reason to believe those concerns will be addressed in the future. Home