County Fire Department Defended : Funds: An advisory panel’s report counters criticism of the agency. It finds no evidence of extravagant spending.

Despite criticism that the Ventura County Fire Department has been wasting precious tax dollars, a citizens advisory committee has issued a preliminary report saying that the department cannot be held fully accountable for how it spends its money.

According to the report, which will be presented to the Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday, the county Personnel Department is responsible for negotiating salaries and overtime for firefighters.

As a result, the Fire Department has little control over money spent in those areas, the report found.

“Basically, our conclusion was that the Fire Department was not totally able to monitor its own costs and operations because of the efforts vested in other departments,” said F. B. Esty, committee chairman.

Esty also said the panel has seen no evidence that the department has been “operating extravagantly,” contrary to assertions by some top county officials.

“We have a first-class Fire Department that is well-suited for the task they have,” Esty said. “That does not mean that there are (not) some areas that cannot be improved.

“But on the whole, we have been able to turn up nothing that indicates to us that the Fire Department is operating extravagantly or without due regard to the taxpayers,” he said.

However, Esty said the group--charged with recommending ways to make the department more efficient--will meet several more times before issuing its final report in April, and could still find some problem areas.

“This report is only a beginning,” he said.

The citizens group, with about 15 active members, was formed several months ago by the supervisors in response to a critical audit of the Fire Department.

The audit by county Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon found that the department was wasting money on overtime and was top-heavy with managers.

Mahon also found that, although 64% of its calls involve medical emergencies, most of the department’s equipment is primarily for fighting fires.

He suggested that the department invest more in smaller vehicles to handle medical calls and reduce its use of gas-hungry firetrucks.

But Esty said his citizens advisory committee rejected that suggestion.

“We’ve had a major fire and a major earthquake,” he said. “All the engines we had were absolutely essential to maintain the level of service the public expected. The Fire Department needs everything it’s got.”

While the panel’s preliminary report was praised by county firefighters, one supervisor said she hopes the committee will do a more thorough investigation of the department before issuing its final recommendations.

“I hope we will see something that doesn’t just agree with the Fire Department in every case,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said.

Ken Maffei, president of the Ventura County Professional Firefighters’ Assn., praised the preliminary findings.

“There are some areas that need to be looked at as far as making us more efficient,” he said. “But, all in all, I don’t think there is multimillion-dollar waste going on.”