Oceanside Proposes Cuts in Fire, Police Services : Budget: Threat of a $5.8-million deficit leads city planners to consider wide-ranging reductions.

The dreaded official word has come that Oceanside must cut 87 part-time and unfilled city jobs, ground police helicopters and eliminate a fire engine company to help avert a sobering $5.8-million budget deficit.

Wide-ranging budget reductions proposed this week by Acting City Manager Jim Turner clearly would hurt the county’s third-largest city if adopted.

“It means in some areas you may have to wait a minute or two longer for a fire truck, and, when you go to the beach, be sure to watch your kid, because there won’t be as many lifeguards,” Mayor Larry Bagley said Thursday.

Already, the city’s 125,000 citizens are being exhorted to descend on the City Council meeting Wednesday to loudly protest public safety reductions, and the firefighters union is resisting the proposed departmental cuts.

“I want public safety protected, and I want the council to know their priorities are scrambled eggs,” said Donna McGinty, a Neighborhood Watch leader who is rallying budget protesters.

“How many lives will it cost, how many people will be dead without that response time by those firemen and policemen?” asked McGinty, who has vowed to flood the council meeting with upset citizens.

Actually, Turner and Bagley believe police and fire can be cut without jeopardizing emergency services, but nobody is saying that carving $5.8 million from the $227-million budget won’t be painful.

The council learned three weeks ago that last summer’s cheery budget predictions were faulty and that heavy city spending, the limp housing market and military deployment from nearby Camp Pendleton had strangled city revenues.

Although there is still political fallout from the budget calamity, the city staff has been ordered to identify 12% across-the-board cuts that Turner will take before the council on Wednesday.

Turner’s recommendations include cutting 87 jobs through a combination of laying off part-time temporary employees, eliminating vacant jobs, not replacing some retiring workers, and ending some contract jobs. The city now employees 954 people.

Among the more visible effects of proposed budget cuts: tram service at the Oceanside pier will stop; beach lifeguard services will be reduced; the Marshall Street Swim Center will be closed until June 24; street repair will be delayed; maintenance of city facilities will be reduced; it will take longer to get police reports.

But the most controversial spending reductions involve police and fire services, which would be cut by $1.9 million and $1 million, respectively.

Turner said he’s already ordered the Police Department’s two helicopters grounded to save $200,000 in maintenance. It costs Oceanside $500,000 a year to maintain, operate and pay for the lease-purchase agreement for the helicopters.

Another nearly $1 million would be saved by not filling police vacancies--thus reducing pay and fringe benefits--and by curtailing overtime.

While the helicopters, a sizable expenditure that became a campaign issue in the November council election, are grounded at least for the rest of this fiscal year, Turner insisted police cuts will not affect emergency service.

“It really shouldn’t affect the patrol car on the street,” he said.

For fire service, Turner has already trimmed $500,000 by canceling the city’s contract with Hartson Medical Services, and ordering city firefighters to return to providing ambulance service.

The firefighters who would be assigned to ambulance service would be made available by eliminating one of the department’s six engine companies, according to Turner.

The Oceanside Firefighters Assn. is resisting the change. The labor situation was discussed in closed-door executive session during the council’s meeting earlier this week.

“The real sticking point is they (firefighters) are concerned because they like the engine company-paramedic system” and don’t want to resume providing ambulance service, said Turner.

Terry Griffin, president of the firefighters union, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Turner said it will not take fire trucks significantly longer to respond to calls because of budget cuts, although he acknowledged it “really hasn’t been determined” yet what response times would be.

When the council reviews Turner’s budget recommendations Wednesday, Bagley said, he will ask whether police and fire departments could be cut less severly.

“Frankly, I feel some (other) areas and departments probably can be cut a little deeper than we have to cut police and fire,” Bagley said.

At least one cost-cutting measure already has been adopted.

Council members Wednesday rescinded a pay raise that would have raised their salaries from $694 to $764 a month, effective this week. Councilwoman Melba Bishop said. “Even if it’s only $3 a month, we should not be giving ourselves a pay raise when we’re laying people off.”