Commission discussion and direction regarding Fire Protection District draft governance recommendations for LAFCo's Municipal Service Review (no action will be taken)

Following a staff overview, discuss and provide direction regarding Fire Protection District draft governance recommendations for LAFCo's Municipal Service Review (MSR). Staff will incorporate the Commission's direction into the draft MSR, tentatively scheduled for a public hearing on May 26, 2022.

None.

LAFCo staff have been working on this MSR for the fifteen (15) fire protection districts (FPDs) since summer 2021. Two of the state-mandated determinations for MSRs is the "status of, and opportunities for, shared services and facilities“ and "accountability for community service needs, including governmental structure and operational efficiencies” (Government Code Section 56430). Therefore, LAFCo is required to make a determination regarding FPD governance and making recommendations to that end.

As staff engaged with the districts regarding governance, it became readily apparent that any recommended changes could have potentially significant ramifications and would, understandably, be controversial. Staff recommends an iterative approach would be useful in this case, providing a two-step process with the Commission: (1) discussing and providing direction on governance issues at the March 31, 2022 meeting; and (2) holding the public hearing for consideration and potential adoption of the MSR at the May 26, 2022.

Please see attachment A. The report contains maps and tables that do not import into the agenda software well.