California’s Board of Forestry has released a draft report describing the collection and use of the Fire Prevention fee applied to structures within State Responsibility Areas.

Since the state began collecting the fees in 2011-12, nearly $150 million has been received. Revenues have averaged nearly $75 million in each of the first two years. Cal Fire also projects this level of revenue for the next two years.

These revenues have been used for a variety of purposes. The major objective is fire prevention efforts, including fire inspections. Last fiscal year, Cal Fire devoted slightly more than $11 million for this work and estimates the current year cost to increase to about $11.8 million.

Fire prevention programs receive the largest share of the fire-fee funding. In 2012-13, more than $27 million was invested in this work and the current year estimate is nearly $35.5 million. Activities funded in this category include “implementation of the statewide Strategic Fire Plan, fire engineering, law enforcement and fire prevention education. Typical examples of these types of activities include, but are not limited to, arson investigation, public education and inspections related to defensible space and ignition-resistant buildings,” according to the report.

Fire abatement and protection projects such as fuelbreaks also receive funding, which has grown from $1.7 million to $8.2 million this year. Riverside County has funded two major fuelbreak projects: the Red Hill Truck Trail in Pine Cove and the other in El Cariso, said Jody Hagemann, senior public information specialist for Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department.

The governor’s 2014 budget requested a one-time appropriation of $10 million for a local grant program. If the request is approved, the board will develop the grant program and related grant criteria, and the 2014-15 will be the first year for funding the program.

The SRA fire fee is $150 per habitable structure except within areas bounded by a legally recognized local agency that provides fire protection services, such as the Idyllwild Fire Protection District. Owners of habitable structures within IFPD and other similar jurisdictions pay a $135 annual fee.

Raises for top Riverside County officials were on the agenda for the Board of Supervisors Aug. 5 meeting. The board considered increases for themselves as well as the other elected county officials — assessor/county clerk/recorder, auditor-controller, district attorney, sheriff/coroner and treasurer/tax collector.

State law authorizes each county’s supervisors to set their own compensation. The Riverside board members have received no increases since 2007. Their current annual salary is $143,031.

In 1998, a Blue Ribbon Salary Review Committee recommended that county supervisors’ salary be set at 80 percent of the salary for a state Superior Court judge. Judges have recently received 1.4-percent and 1.83-percent increases.

If approved, the Riverside supervisors’ salaries would increase $4,656 — to $147,688.

Elected officials would receive increases between 20 to 22 percent. The sheriff’s and district attorney’s annual salaries would increase by 22.33 percent to $273,000 annually from the current level of $223,200. Other elected officials would receive a 20.68 percent raise — to $200,000 annually. Their current salary is $166,700.

The new salaries would be effective Sept. 18. District Attorney Paul Zellerbach would enjoy only a few months of the raise before he leaves office in January for Michael Hestrin who won the June election.