Regarding the Acorn's April 23 story ("Inquiry over fire protection fees shouldn't take five months, Gillette says"), questions have risen as to why the fire district's report back to the city of Thousand Oaks will take until August to be completed.

At the March 2009 City Council meeting in which the city received an update to its fire service study, their recommendation was to have staff and the fire district work toward a consolidated report that would be done by September.

I suggested an August 2009 completion date to Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks because there are limited board of supervisor meetings in August, and I felt that that this report is important to both the city and county.

The fire district wants to ensure that this report meets the needs of all parties when it's released, so there are many staff meetings being planned for stakeholder feedback. Our goal is to use the data and reach a consensus on the financial formula so it can be replicated every five years to meet the city's needs.

The question at hand is if the city of Thousand Oaks is getting its money's worth for what it receives in fire/rescue services, not the quality of services as expressed by City Councilmember Dennis Gillette.

This question will be answered as the fire district returns a report to Supervisor Parks and its board of directors, as well as the City Council of Thousand Oaks in August/September 2009. Bob Roper Ventura County Fire Chief