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Contra Costa County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
Smart Voter

Restore Fiscal Discipline to the Rodeo Hercules Fire District!

By William "Bill" Prather

Candidate for Director; Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District

This information is provided by the candidate
1. I opposed the Benefit Assessment District.
2. Why the excessive overtime without regard to budget or the true need for the overtime?
3. The need for a unified Battalion 7 under one management hat must be a priority for this Fire District to lead the way!
1. I was the only dissenting vote against adopting the Benefit Assessment District. The BAD has now been challenged as an illegal use of the BAD per Proposition 218. Our Rodeo-Hercules Fire District is now involved in costly litigation and we most likely will not prevail.

2. Out of control overtime at a time that our budget is under water is unconscionable! I have always said overtime is the cancer of any budget and good public policy is to eliminate overtime with "thinking outside of the box". Developing a Reserve Training Program that can produce top quality candidates for the Fire and Emergency Services must be the number one priority in everyone's thinking. Developing a "Fire Fighter Temp Agency" that could provide the BEST temporary firefighter where any overtime is needed in this County is long past its time for implementation. The excessive overtime budgets in all County Fire Agencies is a point of criticism with our public & voters. When employee's make as much in overtime as they do in salary we have a management & leadership problem. This is one of the reasons that all agencies have lost public support at the ballot box. We need a change in the thinking in the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District. The replacement of union backed Directors is a must to enact real change. The "same old, same old" is NOT working! Eliminating overtime is a must in order to get our budget under control and to regain the support of the voting public.

3. The Rodeo-Hercules Fire District was fired from the 2 1/2 year contract to manage the Pinole Fire District in March 2013.. Current Directors were not willing to find out why we were fired from the management of the Pinole Fire Department. I supported then and I do today the consolidation of Battalion 7 under one leadership hat to improve our public safety in the West County area. Again, thinking outside the box is critical to make things happen and to gain public support for future funding issues.

TO THE VOTERS & CITIZENS OF OUR RODEO-HERCULES FIRE DISTRICT: OUR DISTRICT IS IN DEEP FINANCIAL TROUBLE! YOU DID NOT CREATE THIS PROBLEM BUT CURRENT DIRECTORS VOTED TO TAX YOU AGAIN AS A SHORT TERM SOLUTION! THE TAX DID NOT ADDRESS OUR LONG TERM PROBLEM!

THE SAME DIRECTORS VOTED A 15 MONTH EXTENSION ON A CHIEF'S CONTRACT THAT PROVIDES FOR A $200,000.00 GOLDEN PARACHUTE IF HE IS SUBJECT TO "EXCESSIVE DIRECTOR OVERSIGHT". I VOTED AGAINST BOTH THE BENEFIT ASSESSMENT DISTRICT TAX AND THE CONTRACT EXTENSION!

I DO NEED THREE VOTES ON THIS BOARD AND I URGE YOUR SUPPORT TO GIVE ME THAT HELP! I ASK FOR YOUR VOTE TO RETAIN ME AS THE SOLE INCUMBENT AND TO CAST YOUR VOTES FOR ERNIE WHEELEER AND TEAGAN CLIVE!

IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO ANY RODEO & HERCULES RESIDENTS IN YOUR E-MAIL CONTACTS! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN MAKING THE NEEDED CHANGES IN OUR FIRE DISTRICT!

RESPECTFULLY, WILLIAM "BILL" PRATHER, DIRECTOR SINCE 1994

(MY CAMPAIGN SIGN SAYS IT ALL!)

NO NEW TAXES + JUST NEW THINKING! RODEO-HERCULES FIRE DISTRICT VOTE CHANGE & NEW LEADERSHIP!

RE - ELECT ONE INCUMBENT! BILL PRATHER YOU CAN TRUST HIM WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS!

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