LAKEPORT — In a November 20 press release, the Lakeport City Council calls for applicants to two positions on the Lakeport Fire District Board of Directors, following procedural changes to the appointment process. According to the release, two positions are now open for application by members of the public living within Lakeport city limits.
“Influence the future of your community,” the release reads. “Represent the City of Lakeport on the Lakeport Fire District Board of Directors.”
“The City Council of the City of Lakeport is inviting interested residents to submit an application for nomination to serve on the Board of Directors of the Lakeport Fire Protection District,” the release states. “This is open to residents living within the City’s incorporated boundaries.”
Recent procedural changes have not altered the makeup of the board of directors, but have opened up one more seat for reappointment than was previously open. Under the new procedure the City of Lakeport can approve two seats for appointment by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, and the Board of Supervisors can appoint the remaining three, which will come from the unincorporated areas of the Lakeport Fire District.
“The Lakeport Fire District is governed by the Lakeport Fire District Board of Directors, which is comprised of five citizens that live within the District,” the release states. “This includes Two (2) Board Members nominated by the Lakeport City Council on the basis of interest and qualifications, and approved for appointment by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.”
The Fire District’s Board of Directors meet at 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the Main Street Station.
The release adds that “membership on this board is voluntary. If you are interested in serving on the board, applications are available on the City’s website under the Hot Topic, ‘Now Recruiting: Lakeport Fire Protection District Board’ (www.cityoflakeport.com). For additional information, please contact Hilary Britton, Deputy City Clerk, at 263-5615, Ext. 102, or by e-mail at hbritton@cityoflakeport.com.”
Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 5 p.m. City Manager Margaret Silveira has said that the application period is brief due to the last-minute procedural change initiated by Board of Supervisors.
In a recent Lakeport Fire District board meeting which predated the change in procedure, Chief Doug Hutchison said that County Counsel Anita Grant was reviewing the County’s process of appointment because it had been discovered that the existing process did not follow the Fire Protection District Law of 1987, which requires the board of a fire district which includes territory in an incorporated city and territory outside of that city to be made up of some directors appointed by the City and some appointed by the County.
The legislation reads: “In the case of a district which contains unincorporated territory and the territory of one or more cities:
“(a) The district board may be elected or appointed by the county board of supervisors and the city councils in which the district is located. If the district board is to be appointed, the board of supervisors and the city council or councils shall appoint directors according to the proportionate share of population that portion of the county and each city within the district, provided that the board of supervisors and each city council shall appoint at least one director. The board of supervisors or city council may appoint one or more of its own members to the district board. In no case shall the number of directors exceed 11 members.”
Interestingly, the law allows for the board of supervisors to appoint itself as the board of directors for the fire district, should the city consent. “(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the county board of supervisors may appoint itself as the district board, if the city council of each of the cities consents by resolution.”
