CITY OF MENIFEE
SUBJECT: Fire Services Review Follow Up
MEETING DATE: February 18, 2026
TO: Mayor and City Council
PREPARED BY: Jennifer Jackson, Senior Management Analyst REVIEWED BY: Bryan Jones, Assistant City Manager
APPROVED BY: Armando G. Villa, City Manager
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Review and discuss the City of Menifee’s fire protection, fire prevention, rescue and emergency medical services provided by Riverside County Fire Department/CAL FIRE through a Cooperative Agreement.
DISCUSSION
In response to a future agenda item request from the City Council on April 2, 2025, a review of the City of Menifee’s fire services was presented for discussion at the September 17, 2025, City Council meeting. The presentation included a review of the Cooperative Agreement between the City of Menifee and the County of Riverside (Cooperative Agreement) for fire protection and fire marshal services including costs, calls for service, City fire infrastructure investments, aid agreements, and assistance given/received under the Cooperative Agreement.
Lastly, staff presented information regarding fire service models and options for consideration including:
Continued discussion with Riverside County/CAL FIRE regarding the disproportionate level of fire services provided by the City of Menifee to neighboring communities and ways to spread contract costs more equitably between jurisdictions; and Consideration of alternatives to contracted fire services:
oMunicipal Fire Department
oFire Protection District
oJoint Powers Authority (JPA)
Citing concerns regarding the disproportionate level of services provided by Menifee to neighboring communities, the Council provided direction to staff to continue discussions with Riverside County/CAL FIRE in the effort to find a resolution. City staff were asked to provide an
City of Menifee Staff Report
Fire Services Review Follow Up
February 18, 2026
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update after a period of 60 days. If it is determined that meaningful progress has not been made in addressing the equitable distribution of services between jurisdictions operating under the Cooperative Agreement City Council may seek to complete a feasibility study to evaluate alternative fire service delivery options.
Discussions with Riverside County/CAL FIRE
Following the September 17, 2025, City Council meeting, staff engaged in further dialog with the Riverside County/CAL FIRE executive management team. Discussions were held to address the disproportionate level of fire service provided by the City of Menifee as compared to surrounding communities under the existing service model. During these discussions, the leadership teams from both Riverside County and CAL FIRE affirmed their commitment to providing fire protection service equitably across Riverside County Fire Department’s service area.
Riverside County/CAL FIRE executive management issued a letter (Letter) on November 14, 2025 (Attachment 1), in response to the concerns raised by the City Council at the September 17, 2025, meeting. The Letter specifically details the Standards of Coverage and Community Risk Assessment currently underway, offers additional data to provide greater context for the imbalance in Menifee’s fire response within and outside of the City, and provides updates on planned fire system improvements in Perris and Wildomar. The fire services update set for the December 3, 2025, City Council meeting was continued to February 18, 2026, to enable the City’s representatives to continue to work with the City of Perris to reach a settlement agreement in association with existing litigation and address fire service disparities between jurisdictions.
Standards of Coverage and Community Risk Assessment
Set for completion in the second quarter of 2026, the comprehensive Standards of Coverage and Community Risk Assessment, conducted by Citygate Associates, will provide data and recommendations on services, including (but not limited to) the following key areas of concern for the City:
Service delivery analysis (including population and development growth projections) Cost allocation methodologies for the entire County
Current station locations and future station consideration Distribution and deployment of apparatus/vehicles
Community expectations and performance goals
Review of historical system performance
The Assessment also includes stakeholder engagement with input from each city/agency receiving service under the Cooperative Agreement to gain a comprehensive understanding of the communities served and the operational, economic, and policy issues at hand.
Assistance Given/Received - Neighboring Cities
The Letter includes tables which offer additional data to provide context for the disproportionate response levels between Menifee and Perris in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023/24 and FY 2024/25. The first set of comparison tables illustrates a significant rebalancing of mutual aid response volume between the Cities of Perris and Menifee. In FY 2023/24, Menifee's fire department provided service to Perris for 462 more calls than Perris provided to Menifee. This disparity was substantially reduced in FY 2024/25, where Menifee responded to 148 more calls into Perris, a change attributed to the City of Perris purchasing a medic squad.
City of Menifee Staff Report
Fire Services Review Follow Up
February 18, 2026
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A second set of comparison tables indicates the gap in response hours between Menifee and Perris in FY 2023/24 (153.4 additional response hours in Perris) narrowed to 45.6 hours in FY 2024/25.
In addition, the Letter references the progress the City of Perris has made regarding plans for the new South Perris fire station no.105, which will be located at 2495 Murrieta Rd. The City has approved the design and acquired the land for the new station. At the November 18, 2025, Council meeting, the Perris City Council approved the fire station financing plan. At that same meeting, the Perris City Council also approved establishment of a temporary fire station in South Perris at 3012 Sawmill Drive to alleviate the call burden on the Menifee stations until construction of the permanent South Perris station is completed (Temporary Fire Station no. 105 is now operational).
Lastly, the Letter indicates that discussions with the City of Wildomar staff are ongoing regarding future planning for a station that will serve the east side of the City.
As a next step, the following options may be taken into consideration:
Option 1: Given the City of Perris’ commitment to the establishment of a permanent new fire station to serve South Perris and the opening of a temporary fire station in the interim (relieving pressure on fire stations based in the City of Menifee), the ongoing discussions between Riverside County Fire and the City of Wildomar regarding future fire station planning, and the County’s Standards of Cover and Community Risk Assessment process that is underway, the City Council may want to consider deferring commencement of a feasibility study to evaluate alternative fire service delivery models until the Citygate Assessment is completed (summer of 2026). This study will provide additional information that can be used to inform next steps.
Option 2: City staff is prepared to initiate a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for a fire services feasibility study at a future date, subject to the City Council’s direction.
STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE
Safe and Vibrant Community
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. Upon request, City staff would initiate an RFP process bringing forward an agreement for completion of fire services feasibility study including the associated fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter from Riverside County and CAL FIRE
2. County of Riverside and Citygate Associates Standards of Cover and Community Risk Assessment Agreement