The Ripon Consolidated Fire District is making a fresh attempt to secure funding for its second fire station, launching a fourth tax measure aimed at covering staffing costs for the station at 1705 N Ripon Rd.

District officials announced on December 18 that they have begun the benefit assessment process, enlisting SCI Consulting Group of Fairfield to oversee the steps. Again, the City of Ripon will share the cost of the assessment with the district.

A benefit assessment, as explained by SCI online, is a voter-approved mechanism—usually under Proposition 218—that generates a dedicated, reliable revenue stream for fire protection services. Property owners are charged according to the specific benefit their property receives from fire suppression and emergency response upgrades. SCI will perform a parcel-by-parcel analysis, followed by a formal Engineer’s Report, public hearings, and a ballot measure limited to property owners, which requires a majority vote.

Over the past 6 months, the fire district has rolled out a broad community outreach effort, holding four public town halls, meeting with the Chesapeake Landing Homeowners Association, visiting parent-faculty groups in Ripon Unified School District, and participating in additional public events.

“Community engagement remains a priority,” the district said in a recent statement, urging residents to stay involved and watch for updates on upcoming meetings and information sessions.

In its previous tax campaigns, the district emphasized transparency, sharing monthly incident summaries and livestreaming board meetings online. Since the last campaign ended, those updates have slowly dropped off—the most recent incident summary dates to May 2025, and the latest board meeting posted online is from July 2025.

This is the fourth time the district has sought voter approval for new funding. Its previous attempt, August 2024, failed after reports of ballot printing errors, property owners missing ballots altogether or receiving multiples, and frustration over a requirement that each ballot be signed before submission.

Some residents have questioned why the City of Ripon itself has not stepped in with direct funding, though as a special tax district, the fire department operates independently from the city. There have also been calls for Ripon to explore a sales tax increase, similar to Lathrop’s Measure C in 2012—a one-cent sales tax that has since generated millions annually, shared between the Lathrop Manteca Fire District and local services.

No official projections have yet been released detailing how much the proposed assessment would cost property owners, and no ballot date has been set. District officials say a tentative timeline aims for May 2026, with more details expected as the process continues. Meanwhile, both residents and business owners are already seeing increases in their property taxes, even before factoring in a possible new assessment.