CASTROVILLE, Calif - There is a controversial bill that will soon be in the mailboxes of more than 800,000 Californians, living in rural areas. But how can you tell if you will have to pay?
Cal Fire maps online show exactly who will be paying the fee. The yellow regions are the State Responsibility Areas. The people who live here could be paying up to $150.00 a year to keep their property safe.
We stopped by several homes near Manzanita Regional Park in Monterey County and neighbors we spoke with said they didn't mind the fee, but there are some who say you shouldn't pay for the fire crews to do their job.
Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Tax Association plans to file a lawsuit because it believes people will be paying a tax for something that isn't a new service. "It is clearly a tax and California requires a 2/3 vote in each house. This bill received only a simple majority vote in each house," said Coupal.
The tax association claims that the annual $150.00 bill is still too much for residents to pay. "Californians are already paying enough taxes. We're one of the highest tax states in the nation. At the same time they're trying to shove this tax down the throats of ordinary rural California homeowners," said Coupal.
The governor signed the bill into law in July 2011. Cal Fire staff say the fee pays for a variety of services and now they want to work directly with homeowners, knocking on doors to do things like brush clearance and improve the health of forests that are close to these homes. Money also goes to helping rural homeowners create emergency evacuation plans and fire severity mapping. Cal Fire will also do defensible space inspections to show homeowners how to keep their property safe.
However, the taxpayer association said those services should already be taken care of by firefighters closer to home. "Services can be in most instances provided by local fire agencies," said Coupal.
The bills started arriving this month in alphabetical order and will continue to be sent out over the next four months. If you want to find out if your home sits in these unincorporated areas you can visit www.firepreventionfee.org to view the map and type in your address.
