South County cities face cuts after ballot measures to fund fire services fail at the polls.

The Soledad and Gonzales fire departments face a grim future after Measures A and B, parcel taxes in each city that would have provided funding to fire departments, failed at the polls with 49 and 47 percent of the vote, respectively, far short of the two-thirds needed to pass.

“We are in a very unfavorable climate,” Soledad City Manager Megan Hunter says, noting everyday life has become less affordable with higher prices for food and gas.

Both cities now face tough choices to keep funding their fire departments in challenging budgetary times.

Gonzales reduced several recreational programs, including aquatics, sports and after-school programs, and released some part-time employees. It saved the city $500,000 that will be redirected to fire services.

Still, Gonzales City Manager Carmen Gil says if they can’t find another funding source, the city might have to close its fire department.

“If we don’t find a new source of revenue, we will not be able to afford a fire department,” Gil says. She notes Gonzales can’t afford to contract with Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District nor Cal Fire.

Soledad is considering similar measures to reduce spending. The council approved an interim budget on June 10 that will be reviewed in August, and cuts could be on the horizon.

Soledad already contracts with Cal Fire. Response times are expected to remain the same but without Measure A, they will not add a third firefighter to all shifts as officials had hoped. (The National Fire Protection Association recommends four; many departments operate with three.)

Soledad is applying for grants, which could provide funding for personnel for three or four years.

Both councils placed similar measures on the ballot in hopes of generating revenue to cover the cost of increasing personnel, replacing outdated equipment and addressing the high volume of calls for a growing population. In Soledad, calls have doubled in the past decade; over 20 years in Gonzales, calls have nearly tripled, according to officials in each city.

Both cities are exploring other sources of revenue through economic development. Gil expects that once Gonzales’ new $27 million industrial wastewater treatment facility is up and running with a 1 million-gallon-per-day capacity, businesses at Gonzales Agricultural Business Park could expand.

In recent years, Soledad has attracted several new businesses to town including Dutch Bros. Coffee, Panda Express and Tractor Supply Co., but it hasn’t translated into enough revenue, Hunter says.

Both cities could consider adding tax measures to the ballot in the future, but that option looks gloomier. The November ballot will include a statewide proposition that will require two-thirds of the vote to approve special local taxes (currently, some measures require 50 percent). Hunter notes cities depend on local tax revenue to fund services. “It could be devastating for the local government,” she says.