Thank you to all who participated in our survey. Your feedback is so important and it helped us to make a decision that best represents your interests. Based on the results of the survey, our Board of Directors voted unanimously against THCSD’s participation in the countywide parcel tax to improve fire services.  

The survey results:

 Want to know more about Tuolumne County’s Proposed Fire Tax? See below: 

Tuolumne County has initiated an effort to place a special parcel tax measure before voters in June 2021 for fire services. The effort is collaborative and local fire agencies have been invited to participate in the tax measure. Proposed tax amounts have not been finalized, but initial estimates propose tax rates at $150/year for an improved parcel and $75/year for an unimproved parcel.

Over the last few decades, the cost of providing fire and emergency response services has grown much faster than tax revenues, making it difficult for many fire agencies in our county to continue to provide excellent services to their customers. With the growing threat of wildfire, sustainable fire agencies are more important than ever. The proposed parcel tax would help Tuolumne County, Sonora City and other participating fire districts in the County to cover increased costs and improve services.

Twain Harte CSD’s board and residents approved special benefit assessments in 2002 and 2011 to help improve fire services in Twain Harte. These assessments have enabled us to continue to cover increasing costs and provide excellent, sustainable services. In fact, our exceptional fire services were acknowledged earlier this year when the Insurance Services Office (ISO) upgraded our Public Protection Classification from 3 to 2 – a rating held only by the top 4% of fire departments in the nation.

We strive to continually improve and provide the best possible services to our community. If we chose to participate in the parcel tax, we could add paid engineers to our shifts, improving expertise and reliability. We could also enhance our emergency medical services, bringing us closer to providing paramedic services.  We currently have one paid fire captain and 2-3 firefighter interns on each shift.