The Larkspur and Corte Madera fire departments could soon be operating under the same name: the Central Marin Fire Department.
An advisory board overseeing the shared fire services between the city and town is supporting the recommended name proposed this week by the firefighters’ associations of the respective departments.
City and town officials still have administrative hurdles to clear before officially merging their fire departments, but with a proposed name in mind, they can move forward pursuing a joint powers authority agreement.
“Now we sort through all the concerns that we have so we can bang out solutions,” said Larkspur City Manager Dan Schwarz.
The biggest roadblock is finalizing agreements with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, officials said.
In Corte Madera, firefighters are enrolled in a 3 percent at age 50 retirement plan. That means firefighters are allowed to retire at age 50. Each year of service earns the employee 3 percent of final compensation. For example, five years of service would earn 15 percent of final compensation, and so on. It’s capped at 90 percent of final compensation.
In Larkspur, they are on a 3 percent at age 55 plan.
Those who were hired after 2013, when the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) was established, are on a 2.7 percent at 57 plan, or a 2 percent at age 62 plan.
In the formation of a single fire department, it’s complicated having firefighters on different plans.
Together, the unfunded liabilities for the city and town add up to about $12 million, with Corte Madera’s liability slightly higher.
Administrators want to move all “classic employees,” those hired prior to PEPRA, into one classic plan: 3 percent at 55, said Corte Madera Town Manager Todd Cusimano. It could result in cost savings, he said.
“That’s an important reform to make,” he said.
The two departments have been sharing services in some form since 2013.
The neighboring towns have been officially exploring a consolidation of their fire departments since 2015.
Larkspur fire Chief Scott Shurtz has been running both departments since last spring. His annual salary is $168,000.
“Now what happens, is we as managers can go back and work with our attorneys to write a draft joint powers authority agreement,” Cusimano said. “Then that will go to the respective councils who are ultimately the decision-makers.”
The JPA agreement is the document that creates the new fire agency. The draft JPA is expected to be ready for council review in late July.
But firefighters won’t be employed by the proposed Central Marin Fire Department until administrators finalize an agreement with CalPERS. Until that’s settled, the town and city will be loaning their fire staff to what would be a newly formed fire department.
Corte Madera Mayor Diane Furst is a member of the ad hoc advisory committee.
“This is a strategy to really keep things moving forward,” she said.
Larkspur Councilman Larry Chu, who is also a committee member, said the proposed Central Marin name seems to make sense, because it’s a brand and identity established already by the Central Marin Police Authority.
That was the thought process behind the name proposal, said Corte Madera fire Capt. Nick Gabbard, president of the Corte Madera Firefighters Association, the labor union for the department.
“It coincides with the Central Marin Police Authority,” he said. “And we work together; we thought it would be seamless.”
Gabbard said the firefighters of both departments unanimously supported the Central Marin name.
Now that the departments have already operationally been acting as one, the Corte Madera firehouse on Tamalpais Drive has become home base, said Chief Shurtz.
“I feel really encouraged about the path forward,” he said. “This is a low-risk approach and it makes complete sense.”
Initially, there could be some start-up costs, but using the model set by Central Marin police, municipal officials expect to improve service and see cost savings.
This year Larkspur and Corte Madera budgeted about $4 million and $5 million for fire services. Officials previously said the city and town could eventually save about $159,000 and $155,000, respectively.
