HUNTINGTON BEACH : Firefighter Union Disavows Cable Tax

The union representing the city’s firefighters said Monday that the firefighters are being used as “scapegoats” for a proposed 5% tax on cable television.

“The city says it’s needed for the Fire Department, but we’re not getting anything from the tax,” said Curt Campbell, president of the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn. “We’re just being used as scapegoats so the city can ‘sell’ the tax.”

In rebuttal, City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga said the Police and Fire departments have not had to make cutbacks in personnel or programs, in contrast to other city departments that face cuts because of a $3.4-million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year.

Uberuaga said the City Council instructed him to find a way to keep from making any cuts in the Police and Fire departments. He said he recommended the 5% tax on cable TV as a solution.

Earlier this month, the council gave preliminary approval to a proposed ordinance that would impose the cable TV tax, beginning in July. The tax would cost an average cable subscriber about $1.50 a month, city officials said.

The tax ordinance, however, does not become final until a second council vote, which is scheduled for Monday. Paragon Cable officials have mounted a campaign against the tax in an effort to reverse the council’s approval of the measure.

During the council’s special meeting Monday night, some opponents of the tax addressed the council during the public forum portion of the session. The firefighters, who have been working without a contract since Oct. 1, also used the forum to remind the council of their unhappiness about the contract situation.

Several speakers said they resented the city linking a fee increase to the Fire Department. Some firefighters carried signs into the meeting that read: “Don’t blame this tax on your home-team firefighters.”