Re “Not Everyone at City Hall Is Broke. Fire Dept. Says Thanks a Million and a Half”
Your article is misleading and does a disservice to our fire services.
I hope you reflect on the information provided in this email before you run part two of your story.
To fully understand the Fire Dept.’s staffing, and associated benefits to the community, requires time to explain apparatus staffing, shift work, deployment models, pay rates (40 hours vs. 56 hours).
With that said, I will simplify my response by noting the department's “overtime” budget has been approximately $15,000-$20,000 per year.
Overtime is discretionary staffing/expenses for things like training, 405 Freeway closure, Presidential visit, wind event (call back staffing). The costs noted in the article are primarily Constant Staffing.
It is important to note that the department has the same number of people employed today that that it had in 1970.
The department operates every day at a minimum staffing level in order to provide the community an adequate level of service and protection while saving the community money by operating at the pre-determined minimum.
While many fire departments operate at 20-25 percent Constant Staffing level, we have managed to operate at a Constant Staffing rate closer to 12 percent. The model we have deployed for many years actually saves the city and ultimately the community money as Constant Staffing is less expensive than hiring additional personnel.
With the changes in employee benefits recently enacted with the last MOU, Memorandum of Understanding, and the latest changes with PERS, the Public Employee Retirement System, to take effect in January, this may change.
This issue seems to come up every year somewhere in L.A. County and makes a newspaper's headlines. At first blush, it would appear an obvious place to make reductions and save cities money.
Departments continue to operate, utilizing the 24-hour shifts and Constant Staffing as it is the most economical way to staff a department and provide adequate services to our communities.
To reduce the expenses noted from 2010 regarding Constant Staffing would have required us to reduce staffing on our apparatus or take a rig (engine, truck, or rescue) out of service.
Lastly, it is important to note that while our Area A cities all run with four members on an Engine, we operate with three (every day) so not hiring back is not an option.
Mr. Weissman, Mayor of Culver City, may be contacted at andrewweissman@anwlaw.com
