Templeton's fire chief says he's "elated" after the passage of Measure A.
In a special election Tuesday, voters approved a parcel tax increase of $15 per month to provide additional funding for the local fire and emergency services department.
Fire officials say current funding is lacking because they only receive a little more than eight cents to the dollar from property taxes and do not receive any money from sales or tourism taxes.
With the passage of Measure A, they'll be able to create a model that will provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week - something they've never been able to do for the community, until now.
"We just couldn't be happier," said Chief Bill White, Templeton Fire and Emergency Services. "We spoke to every service group in Templeton, anybody who had a pulse who wanted to listen to us, we were speaking to them about the benefits of having a permanent funding mechanism so we could get to a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week coverage model."
If Measure A was defeated, firefighters had said the department would likely have been taken over by CAL FIRE SLO.
It will take about a year for the funding to provide the non-stop fire and emergency services proposed by the Templeton Fire Department.
