South County cities explore ways to get more funding for fire departments.

Over the past few months, the cities of Soledad and Gonzales have each conducted surveys to assess community interest in a parcel tax to fund their fire departments.

Emergency calls have increased. In Soledad, calls have doubled in the past decade; over 20 years in Gonzales, calls have nearly tripled, according to an analysis by officials in each city.

Fire departments, however, haven’t grown at the same rate; both have a team of seven. “We haven’t seen additional people on our equipment,” says Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jason Luckenbach. (Soledad contracts with Cal Fire.)

Response times are within the standard, under five minutes, but each engine has a crew of two firefighters, below the recommendation. The National Fire Protection Association recommends four; many departments operate with three. Most calls – 75 percent in Soledad and 64 percent in Gonzales – are for non-fire-related incidents including medical emergencies.

The potential measures both cities are looking into would be similar to one Greenfield voters approved in 2017. Soledad is considering floating an annual parcel tax of $226 per single-family residential parcel and $169 per apartment; Gonzales is looking at $349 for single-family parcel and $262 per apartment.

Soledad City Council could decide to bring the issue to voters as early as June 2026. If approved, funds would be used for personnel and replacing outdated equipment.

The Soledad Fire Department’s budget for this fiscal year is $4.3 million. City Manager Megan Hunter says the city doesn’t have enough money to fund new positions and equipment and a new funding source is needed. “We would be in a lot of hurt if not for Measure S and Measure Y,” Hunter says, referring to voter-approved sales tax measures from 2012 and 2020.

Soledad is still waiting for survey results while Gonzales City Manager Carmen Gil says results are favorable, showing support for a measure.