“The Best Local District You Never Heard Of”
Hello Residents,
After serving you for the last 16 years I am running for reelection as one of your Directors for the VFPD.
Most residents of the VFPD do not realize they live in a special district that is responsible for providing you with emergency medical services and protection from catastrophic fires. We like to believe that is because we do such a good job working quietly in the background no one ever wonders “why do we get this service” from the City of Vista.
Not long after I joined the Board of the VFPD I negotiated our 25-year service contract with the City which guarantees the residents living in the adjacent County neighborhoods the highest professional service from the superbly equipped Vista Fire Department. With six fire stations located throughout the City of Vista, our first responders can be on site to meet any emergency within the District - in most cases in less than 8 minutes. Our residents enjoy their rural lifestyle while receiving these metropolitan quality emergency services - at no additional cost!
Since I have served on the Board the District has never asked the residents to approve any assessments or tax increases for this protection. The reason is that the contract I put in place guarantees we keep the same high quality of service provided within the City to all of our District residents at a price pre year that can never exceed our existing revenue. As a result, over the years the District has managed to maintain healthy reserves for additional services for our residents, such as the maintenance of emergency access routes in some remote neighborhoods and over 900 fire hydrants located throughout the District.
It was not always so. When I first joined the Board, the District was losing money badly each year under its prior agreement with Vista, and we were looking at a future of tax increases and assessments to maintain District services. The directors at that time were looking to sever our ties to the City completely, and were negotiating for services from fire departments much further away and less equipped to serve our needs. Then the financial crisis of 2008 hit, followed by demands from the State government in Sacramento to turn over another 10% of our revenue. Those were challenging times and our future did not look bright.
But we made it through even stronger than before! One of the reasons is that Directors, including myself, believe membership is a community service, and an opportunity to give back to our neighbors without seeking salaries or public recognition. It is a common misunderstanding that the Fire District requires fire-fighting expertise to manage the Fire Department. That is not what we do. The City of Vista manages the Fire Department, freeing us to manage our service contract with the City and supervise their performance under carefully negotiated standards and rules of operation. What the District needs most are professional managers skilled in finance, contracting, municipal operations and regulatory compliance. This work is not the exciting stuff that makes headlines and action movies, but it keeps our District running smoothly so you don’t have to ask “How do we get this service”
Thank You for giving me the opportunity to continue serving you.
Rob Fougner
September 2020
Endorsed By:
Read Miller, President
Vista Fire Protection District
