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Solano supervisors vote to assume interim governance of three fire protection districts to support consolidation
Summary
After public comment from district officials and residents, the board adopted resolutions appointing itself as the interim board of directors for Suisun, Montezuma and Vacaville Fire Protection Districts to facilitate consolidation discussions and LAFCO reorganization steps; board asked staff to return with MOUs, staffing and fiscal analyses.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt resolutions appointing the board as the interim board of directors for the Suisun, Montezuma and Vacaville Fire Protection Districts, a procedural step intended to support ongoing consolidation efforts and next steps in the LAFCO reorganization process.
Nancy Nelson, a senior management analyst with the County Administrator’s Office, summarized two decades of grand jury and municipal-service reviews that repeatedly recommended consolidation or reorganizing fire protection across parts of the county. Nelson outlined next steps: MOUs to define interim operations, development of a plan of service that will include a staffing model and fiscal analysis, and eventual application to LAFCO.
Public comment was divided. Chris Calvert, chair of the Vacaville Fire Protection District board, and multiple volunteers and residents praised recent improvements in volunteer staffing, mutual-aid agreements and grant-funded equipment and urged county support. Several residents, including Christine Reeder and Reveille Hemken, raised concerns about local representation, potential diversion of Vacaville district funds, differences in terrain and call volumes, and called for transparency about the plan and protections for local service levels.
Board members debated trade-offs. Supporters said consolidation could improve funding access, staffing flexibility and unified standards for wildfire response; at least one supervisor proposed creating an advisory board structure to preserve local voice and input for residents and district volunteers. The board approved the resolutions 5–0 and directed staff to return with MOUs, interim-service plans and the required LAFCO documents for the reorganization process.
