Another major property assessment increase is being proposed by a fire district in Nevada County. Penn Valley district officials say they need to spike the per-parcel fee from 80 dollars to 296 dollars. Joey Jordan is with the Fire Citizens Committee. She says the district is increasingly getting two calls per hour, and sometimes three, and staffing is now only 50-percent of the national standard…

Parcel owners are being asked to support the hiring of six additional fulltime firefighter/paramedics, which would provide the ability to operate three vehicles per shift. Jordan says calls for service have gradually increased 62-percent since the last assessment increase was approved in 2005…

Jordan says the district has lost 19 staff members in the last five years, due to inadequate pay. And unlike the Higgins district, which has needed two-thirds approval for assessment hikes, only majority approval is asked in the Penn Valley district. Jordan says that’s because only parcel owners are considering their proposal and not all voters. Ballots will be mailed in mid-April and must be returned no later than June second.