Los Osos CSD board to weigh merging fire services with Morro Bay

April 1, 2026

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The Los Osos Community Services District Board of Directors on Thursday will consider a proposal to contract with the city of Morro Bay for fire protection and emergency medical services. CSD officials are weighing the possibility of a long-term fire services agreement with Morro Bay against continuing to work with Cal Fire.

For more than two decades, Los Osos has contracted with Cal Fire for essential services. However, sharp increases in costs prompted Los Osos directors to consider sharing services with Morro Bay. 

Los Osos currently has three full-time fire and emergency personnel and one reserve firefighter. There is also a requirement for two paramedics to be on duty in Los Osos at all times, according to a CSD staff report.

The district has long had a goal of having four regular employees working in fire and emergency medical services. However, the CSD needs a special fire tax increase to pass in order to afford the four-person staffing model, district officials say.

Since the COVID pandemic, Cal Fire has struggled to fully staff fire personnel for Los Osos.

At a Sept. 2025 board meeting, CSD directors identified the city of Morro Bay as a potential alternative to Cal Fire. Since then, both Cal Fire and Morro Bay have submitted proposals to the community services district.

Cal Fire submitted two contract options, each with a three-year term but with differing staffing models. Morro Bay issued a letter of interest for a 15-year agreement outlining the scope of services, personnel costs estimates and a sample operational budget. 

The Cal Fire and Morro Bay proposals are structured differently, but Morro Bay’s personnel cost estimation is slightly lower than Cal Fire’s, according to the CSD staff report. In year one, sharing fire and emergency medical services with Morro Bay would cost Los Osos $3.82 million.

Morro Bay would need to hire personnel to fill 12 new positions if it were to take over fire services for Los Osos. Cal Fire could tap into its existing workforce if it were to continue contracting with the Los Osos CSD.

The staff reports suggests that sharing fire services with Morro Bay would allow for slightly lower projected personnel costs and a potential long-term solution. The downside would be the necessity of a transition period and startup costs.

Continuing to contract with Cal Fire with there being three regular employees and a reserve firefighter would allow for immediate implementation, less disruption and time to complete the Emergency Services Strategic Plan, as well as a cost analysis for the fire tax increase the district is pursuing. The drawback would be not resolving staffing reliability issues. 

Alternatively, continuing to contract with Cal Fire and shifting to a four-person fire team would allow for consistency in delivery of services and a potential long-term solution. The downside would be slightly higher costs and less certainty of cost increases at the end of the three-year term, according to the staff report.