California Fire Fighters Win Battle to Keep Fire Stations Open

January 7, 2009 – Berkeley, California, fire station doors will remain open thanks to intense political action by Berkeley Local 1227. In the last election cycle, Local 1227 fire fighters successfully campaigned to pass a special tax initiative – Measure GG, which was supported by more than 70 percent of voters.

“Especially in these tough economic times, the passage of Measure GG was a significant victory,” says David Sprague-Livingston, president of Local 1227. “Now, not only can we keep all seven stations open, but we have the opportunity to increase our level of service to the community.”

Over the past several years, Berkeley’s fire protection services have been falling victim to budget cuts. Some of the cuts included reducing 10 fire stations to seven and staffing from 186 fire fighters to 125.

In recent years, the City began threatening brownouts in Berkeley’s seven remaining stations. Through political action, Local 1227 members were able to secure a deal to stop the brownouts. There was just one catch: the deal had a sunset of September 2008.

“We knew we needed to act fast, so we began discussing solutions with the City,” explains Sprague-Livingston. “After researching several different options, we found that passing a tax initiative would be best. However, we knew the citizens would want more than a promise to maintain the current level of service for their money.”

Measure GG was a special home property tax based on square footage. For example, the annual cost for a 1,900-square-foot home would be $78. The tax will raise the necessary money to keep all stations open, put paramedics at every fire station and restore funding to the disaster readiness program.

“With other compelling issues on the ballot, negative financial news reports and a small campaign budget, we knew getting Measure GG to pass was going to be an uphill climb,” says Sprague-Livingston.

Despite the obstacles, Local 1227 fire fighters launched an aggressive grassroots campaign, including going door-to-door canvassing, flyers, street signs and direct mail. “All of our members participated in the campaign in some way,” says Sprague-Livingston. “It was all worth it as our measure garnered nearly three-fourths of the vote.”