Redondo Beach considers turning fire department over to L.A. County
Facing an expected budget shortfall of $10 million in seven to eight years, the city of Redondo Beach is looking for any way it can to save money.
One of the methods Redondo could use is turning its firefighting and emergency response services over to Los Angeles County, something cities -- most recently Hermosa Beach in January -- have done to balance their budgets.
The process is just beginning in Redondo and city officials do not yet know how much it would cost exactly and what changes, if any, would take place.
For now, the city council has authorized a feasibility study for $30,000, and the city has asked the county for an estimate on what it would cost to make the change.
Once they receive an answer from county officials, the city council will make the final decision. Or it could possibly fall in the hands of voters, as El Segundo decided to do in 2012 only to have the idea soundly rejected.
Palos Verdes Estates made the switch to L.A. County fire services in 1986 when property tax cuts became too severe to sustain a department of its own. Hawthorne elected to move its fire services to the county in the 1990s.
In Redondo Beach, the idea of turning the fire department with its three stations including harbor patrol duties over to the county has political hot potato written all over it.
At the July 10 council meeting when the decision was made 4-0-1, Councilmember Laura Emdee, who abstained from voting on the matter, said there were several reasons to be cautious.
“We don’t have control of the cost increases each year. The county does,” she said. “They will send us a bill detailing what those increases are and we won’t be able to negotiate.”
In Hermosa Beach, however, the city’s contract with the county includes rate caps at 4 percent for the first five years and the ability to negotiate rates afterward. Switching its fire department over to the county was expected to cost the city slightly more -- $6.7 million compared to $6.2 million -- but the real savings come from ongoing labor costs and construction of a new station.
The county said it could build a new station in Hermosa for $9.5 million compared to the city's estimate of $14.7 million.
Another concern, according to Emdee, are emergency response times. If it will take longer for county fire services to arrive on scene compared to what residents expect now, then Emdee just doesn’t see it being worth it.
“Every minute counts,” she said.
Her colleagues Councilmembers Todd Loewenstein and Nils Nehrenheim urged Emdee to wait for the estimate before casting judgement or influencing the opinion of others.
“It sounds like you’ve reached a conclusion before even doing a feasibility study,” Loewenstein said. “Isn’t the point to find out the cost savings?”
Nehrenheim, meanwhile, said it was his understanding the county could meet the response times currently provided.
“To say that response times are going to increase, you have to show me the data,” Nehrenheim said. “That’s saying we are going to put money ahead of lives. L.A. County will do their darndest. What you’re doing is playing politics and money with lives.”
Emdee rejected that analogy. Councilmember John Gran sided with Emdee in taking a cautious approach. Gran said there really has not been a huge ground swell of support for switching fire services over to the county.
“This is a fundamental question of our quality of life. Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Gran said. “We may save money in the short term, but that doesn’t mean we are going to save it in the long run.”
SOURCE: THE BEACH REPORTER
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