A dwindling source of revenue for North County Fire could further shrink after a battery fire.

At the North County Fire Protection District’s board meeting on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 18, Fire Chief Joel Mendoza reported some good news coming from the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, a month after a fire destroyed part of the site and forced nearby residents to evacuate.

Drone operators monitoring the rubble noted that temperatures had gone back down to normal levels, a relief for firefighters who were concerned that recent rains would reignite the damaged batteries.

Less than eight hours after the meeting ended, the battery facility flared up again, prompting emergency officials to issue a warning to residents to keep their windows shut as a precaution. The fire died down early the next morning.

The volatile nature of the fire is not unlike the revenue stream the fire district receives in property taxes from the power plant, historically its largest singular source of funding.

The State of California is responsible for determining the assessed value of power plants. At one point, about 25 years ago, the Moss Landing Power Plant was valued at nearly $1 billion.

But since then, as the decades-old facility began its march toward obsolescence with various portions being shut down over the years, the value has dipped drastically, dropping to a low of under $200 million at one point, Mendoza recalls.

Following Vistra’s investment into a battery storage facility, the property is currently assessed at nearly $1.4 billion. But changes in how that property tax revenue is distributed have diminished the amount the fire district receives, down to $106,677 this year after approaching $1 million in the early 2000s.

Fire District Board President Don Chapin calls the property tax revenue both “a blessing and a curse,” saying the district has made efforts in recent years to diversify its revenue stream.

Proposition 218, passed by voters in 2021, increased property taxes in the district, giving North County Fire a more stable source of revenue. Prior to that proposition, a parcel tax that went before voters in 2019 failed.

The funds have allowed the department to increase its staffing to 30 full-time firefighters, up from a low of 21, Chapin says. The district, which responds to about 3,500 calls annually and serves about 42,000 residents, has three stations, in Castroville, Prunedale and Elkhorn.

While the Castroville station is staffed 24/7 with three firefighters, the other stations have two firefighters apiece.

“We’re doing a darn good job on a very limited revenue stream,” Chapin says. “I’m very proud of what this district does and the resources we have.”

Chapin says the district maintains a balanced budget, although capital improvements are always a constant challenge – some equipment is 30 years old, in addition to dated facilities.

How the possible demolition of the battery facility that burned down affects its property value, and what that means for the fire district’s revenue is unknown at this point, but “we’re going to work with whatever we get,” Chapin says, noting that another tax measure is not on the table.

“A new tax measure is not in our wishlist,” he says. “We cannot just live on the backs of our people. We have to live within our means.”