Department Funding

The primary funding source for the Fire Department is the General Fund.  However, funding is also provided through other revenue sources including Proposition 172 Special Revenue Fund and the Ambulance Enterprise Fund.

Proposition 172 Special Revenue Fund 
Proposition 172, approved by the California voters in November 1993, permanently extended a one-half percent sales and use tax imposed on the total retail price of any tangible personal property for public safety services as partial mitigation for the Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) property tax shifts from cities and counties to the State.  The revenue from this tax is allocated to each county based on their proportionate share of statewide taxable sales and is disbursed each month by the State Controller.  Each County is required to deposit the revenue in a Public Safety Augmentation Fund from which it is allocated by the County Auditor-Controller to the County and its cities.  The enabling legislation (SB 509) provides that public safety services include, but are not limited to sheriffs, police, fire, County district Attorney, county corrections and ocean life guards.

Each County’s allocation is determined by is proportion of taxable sales for all counties in the preceding calendar year.  The Board of Equalization (BOE) provides the State Controller with a table of taxable sales for the 58 counties.  The State Controller calculates each county’s percentage of total statewide taxable sales and applied this percentage to monthly collections.

The allocation factor for each city is based upon city and county property tax revenue shift to the Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) in FY1993-94.  Prior to FY1997-1998, vehicle license monies receive by cities were dedicated from the formula to derive a net FY1993-1994 property tax loss.  Two subsequent amendments affected the allocation formula.

1. Cities and counties share equally in revenue growth commencing with the FY1997-1998 with no cap for city allocations. 

1. A “maintenance of effort” provision requires cities and counties to fund public Safety at the FY1992-1993 levels, adjusted annually by a cost-of-living factor Commencing with FY1994-1995.

Because Counties were the primary losers in the property tax shift to the State under the Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF), the formula rest sin counties being the primary beneficiations of Proposition 172.

Ambulance Enterprise Fund  
The Ambulance Enterprise Fund is used to account for all activities, revenues, expenditures, assets and liabilities to provide ambulance service to the residents of the City of Calexico.  Ambulance charges defray personnel, maintenance and operations and some capital costs of providing fire and emergency medical services.  The City contracts with Whitman to provide ambulance billing.

Measure H Sales Tax Special Revenue Operations Fund and Measure H Bond Capital Projects Fund 
Section 7285.9 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code authorizes cities to levy a transactions and use tax (“sales tax” or “sales and use tax”) to be expended for general purposes, which transactions and use tax is subject to the approval by two-thirds vote of all members of the City Council and by a majority of the qualified voters of the City voting in an election on the issue. 

On March 2, 2010, the City Council in Ordinance No. 1111 authorized a vote of the people to increase the sales tax by half a cent for 20 years for general government purposes.  The ordinance also created a Citizen Oversight Advisory Committee comprised of an appointment by each member of the City Council whose term corresponds with the appointing Council Member’s term of office.  The Oversight Committee oversees, recommends and reports to the City Council on the expenditure of the proceeds of the tax created by the ordinance.

The measure was submitted to the voters of the City of Calexico as required by Section 53720 et. Seq. of the California Government Code, approved by the voters of California in 1986 as Proposition 62; as required by Article XIIIC of the California Constitution, approved by the voters of California in 1996 as Proposition 218; and as required by Section 7285.9 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.

On June 8, 2010, Measure H was approved by the voters.  2,031 (59.98%) voted “yes” and 1,335 (40.02%) voted “no.” 

The City Council has allocated $400,000 a year for the operation of the Calexico Fire Department.  In addition, the FY2015 contains $204,869 for a fire truck lease payment and $7,000,000 from the Measure H Bond to construct a new fire station.