Ripon Consolidated Fire District is heading back to local property owners with a Proposition 218 assessment that would fund additional firefighters and finally staff a second engine that has sat unused since it was built. The district covers roughly 55 square miles but runs with lean on-duty crews, keeping just one ambulance and one engine fully staffed. Leaders say the chronic understaffing has forced Ripon to lean on neighboring departments for backup and has stretched the speed at which local crews can respond. Ballots are expected to go out in late May or early June, with votes counted on Aug. 13.
“There’s a fire engine sitting in there ready to go. We just need the personnel to staff it,” Ripon Fire Chief Eric DeHart told CBS Sacramento. The station reports…..