Collaborations with Towns

A Partnership Built to Last

If the early dispute with San Anselmo tested the partnership, the decades since have been about building it. The original 1956 contract set a pattern that’s held for almost seventy years: a fixed term, an annual joint budget meeting, and a cost-sharing formula renegotiated as circumstances changed. In 1980, that formula shifted away from property valuations and toward actual labor costs — a fairer measure of what services really cost.

Investing in Shared Infrastructure

As SHFPD’s role within the regional Ross Valley Fire Department grew, so did its willingness to invest directly in shared infrastructure. The District has helped maintain Station 20 for years, and in 2004 secured a commitment that the station would stay fully staffed for Sleepy Hollow calls — not just adequately staffed, but guaranteed.

In 2024, the District extended the same approach to Fairfax, agreeing to help fund Station 20 renovations for larger engine crews and offering to support similar upgrades at Fairfax’s own Station 21.