Reorganization ensures reliable services from Newcastle Fire

The Newcastle Fire Protection District (FPD) Board of Directors would like to thank former Placer County Supervisor Jim Holmes for his recent editorial explaining the reorganization of the Placer Hills FPD and Newcastle FPD ("An overview of Placer Hills, Newcastle FD reorganization," Friday, March 6, 2026, Placer Herald/Roseville Press Tribune/Loomis News, page A4). We would like to offer additional information regarding the benefits the reorganization will provide to the community of Newcastle and how we arrived at the reorganization. For 10 years, Newcastle FPD has had the same command staff: Fire Chief, Battalion Chiefs, Fire Marshall and Administration support all provided by Placer Hills FPD under contract at a fraction of the cost the district would have paid for just a fire chief and administration support. This team, along with Newcastle's six (6) fire emergency staff, will not change under the reorganization – same faces, same caring culture. With this reorganization, the district would be able to offer you a higher level of medical service by up-skilling our emergency team from Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support. Every call for help moving forward would have a certified paramedic on that call, the highest level of medical care in the field. To this point, the cost of this service for Newcastle has been prohibitive. This reorganization will afford our firefighters a modern standard of living, including competitive salary, retirement pension and healthcare comparable to other fire departments in the area. In addition, the district will be able to provide job advancement within the organization. This will help prevent the loss of our loyal fire team who elected not to ask for any salary increase last year for the sake of the district. The Newcastle fire station will have access to the modern fire apparatus and lifesaving equipment that will ensure we have the best equipment available to serve our community in the future, plus maintain our current ISO-4 insurance rating. Today, the Newcastle FPD has a board of five district residents acting on your behalf. In the future, the new board will start out with two legacy Newcastle FPD members and three legacy Placer Hills FPD members. This will be a single district with you as our constituents. In the future, the elections will be district wide without consideration of whether you are from a legacy district. There is no change in your ability to voice your opinion at a district meeting. The new board works for you. When Proposition 13 became effective in the late 1970s, county tax rates for special districts were frozen at current levels, including fire protection districts. For the Newcastle FPD, this meant approximately 3 cents of every tax dollar collected within the Newcastle FPD would go toward fire protection. Neighboring fire districts had their tax rates frozen as well. For example, Penryn FPD receives about 5.5 cents, South Placer FPD about 12 cents and Placer Hills FPD receives about 6.5 cents. Newcastle FPD happens to be one of the most impacted in the region because of the shortfall in property tax allocation. As part of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) process for the reorganization, the Newcastle FPD asked Placer County if there could be a reallocation of taxes equal to the Placer Hills FPD tax rate, but this request was unsuccessful. As a result of the shortfalls caused by fixed Prop 13 allocations, most fire districts have special assessments. Newcastle FPD currently has two special assessments for additional funding; the last assessment passed in 2012. Over the last four years, expenses have outpaced fixed revenues. Newcastle FPD has seen approximately 20-percent increase in expenses, but revenue has only grown with inflation at about 10 percent over that period, or 2.5 percent annually. During the LAFCO process when the financial analysis came back the combined district did not have long-term financial viability. As we noted earlier, Newcastle does not have the tax revenue other districts possess. Consequently, it was determined to use Placer Hills FPD Measure A and place it onto Newcastle FPD parcels to make up the additional funding needed so the newly reorganized fire district would be financially sustainable well into the future. Placer Hills has three assessments, including Measure A, and Newcastle parcels will have three assessments, including Measure A. It is true that reorganization will add $220 yearly, plus inflation factor, but this will prevent a financial disaster in the next few years. If the district had to hire a new chief and support staff, it would require the current tax assessments, plus an additional assessment in the range of $500 per year. This would exclude improved salaries or benefits, not provide Advanced Life Support or replace worn equipment. Residents deserve clear information as they consider this LAFCO process. At its core, this decision is about ensuring Newcastle continues to receive reliable fire and emergency services from their Fire Station 41, not just today, but in the future – this reorganization ensures that happens. Jim Heisterkamp is chair of the Newcastle Fire District Board of Directors.