LA PALMA : City to Meet Tuesday on Fire Dept. Rules

The City Council has scheduled a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider ratification of new rules for running the county Fire Department.

The council earlier this month delayed action on the matter after the Apartment Assn. of Orange County raised questions about the proposed rules.

Mayor Wally D. Linn said the association wanted to make sure that the new rules “assured local control” over fire services.

“Since the questions being raised were technical and required legal research, the council decided to delay a vote on ratification and to call a special meeting later to vote on this.”

The Orange County Fire Department, which is under county government, would come under a joint cities-county board under the new rules.

All the cities now served by the county Fire Department, including La Palma, would be represented on the governing board.

The council was scheduled to ratify the new fire authority rules at its Jan. 17 meeting. Linn said the delay in voting on the matter causes no significant problem.

The La Palma City Council last year unanimously, and with little debate, approved the concept of the Joint Powers Authority for the county Fire Department.

Linn said the council is still strongly in support of the JPA.

“I think we’ll probably approve it (the new fire authority rules) as soon as all the questions are answered,” Linn said. “After all, we’ve already approved this in concept.”