With consolidation not penciling out, the Penn Valley Fire Protection District Board has approved a resolution requesting proceedings to begin to annex the Rough and Ready Department. That would be through the Local Agency Formation Commission, also known as LAFCO. Last month, the Rough and Ready Board voted to dissolve, most likely by June, due to the lack of a stable funding base. Penn Valley District Board President, Bruce Stephenson, says consolidation would have prevented the layoffs of Rough and Ready firefighters. But annexation could eventually allow the Rough and Ready station to re-open…

click to listen to Bruce Stephenson

But unless that happens, Stephenson indicates response times could be a little longer…

click to listen to Bruce Stephenson

However, Stephenson says Nevada County would still need to increase the property tax revenue share for the Penn Valley District to restore staffing in Rough and Ready, which might also be from a neighboring district. The county has not shown a willingness to do that, which thwarted consolidation. Stephenson says the goal is to complete annexation by June, when Rough and Ready is scheduled to run out of money.