San Andreas, CA…San Andreas voters this month approved a special tax that will stabilize the funding for San Andreas Fire Protection District. Measure A will generate approximately $250,000 a year for the district, funds that will make it possible to pay stipends to keep volunteer firefighters at the station 24/7, said District Board President Ken Snyder.

“Before this, we had to hope we’d earn enough money sending strike teams to state fires to cover all our costs,” Snyder said. Some years, the district did not have substantial strike team earnings and had to dip into its reserves to continue staffing the station.

The Calaveras County Elections Office reports that the final result for Measure A was 602 yes votes and 280 no votes. That margin of 68.25% in favor was 14 votes more than the two-thirds required for approval. The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to declare the result during its meeting beginning at 9 a.m. today.

Owners of most improved properties such as homes or businesses will pay $165 a year, billed with their property taxes. The owners of apartment buildings and manufactured homes in mobile home parks will pay $66 per year per unit. The owners of unimproved (bare) lots will pay $41.24.

Measure A contains several exemptions to reduce the burden on property owners. Owners of bare lots that are next to a paying home lot under the same ownership can receive an exemption for the bare lots. Low-income homeowners age 62 and older can be exempted from the special tax. Property owners can receive both exemptions by completing a form that will be posted on the Fire District website and available in the Fire District office in July.

“We are grateful to the community for supporting San Andreas Fire’s work to protect lives and property,” Snyder said. “Many volunteers went door-to-door and also did other work to get the word out about Measure A. Without them, this would not have been possible.”

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