At its next meeting on May 12, the Town Council will consider formally opposing the Moraga-Orinda Fire District's (MOFD) nascent exploration of dissolving and merging with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Confire).
Moraga's staff report and associated draft opposition letter provide an excellent overview and are attached at the bottom of this article or are available by clicking here.
We concluded in our earlier article here that any such action by MOFD would be an "unjustifiable move [that] would cede local control, siphon local tax dollars, and consign Moraga and Orinda to less-responsive service", and provided the overall chronology of the President of the local firefighters' union suggesting MOFD explore merging with Confire during its March board meeting and then, at MOFD's April meeting, Director Greg Baitx put forth the item to be placed on the board's May agenda. As such, MOFD's May 19 agenda is expected to include a discussion of the financial implications of a dissolution/merger along with a process overview.
[Ed. Note: The town council voted unanimously to oppose any further consideration of a merger; no further need to contact them.]
We suggest you politely weigh in with the Town Council and share your feelings. Click here to access the Town Council webpage and look for the "email the entire Town Council" link towards the bottom. Please note: the Town and MOFD are separate and distinct entities; the Town does not control MOFD but does have influence.
You also ought to weigh in with MOFD directly; click here for their Board's group email address.
Separately, County Supervisor Candace Andersen - whose district includes Moraga - expressed opposition and no apparent need to consider any merger - during interviews with local stations KTVU and KRON (here and here).
Thanks to the Orinda Firewise Council for referencing our initial article as a informational resource! We see that KTVU also has picked up the story here.