Hawthorne Considers Contracting With the County for Fire Service

While debate at Hawthorne City Hall raged over the benefits of county fire protection versus the city’s Fire Department, one block away at Fire Station One, two paramedic vans were out for repairs. Paramedics transferred equipment from the emergency medical vans to a Chevy Suburban. They could get to the scene of an emergency, but they could not transport patients.

“Because the city can’t afford to service them correctly, down-time for the units is quite extensive,” said paramedic and firefighters union leader Will Pryor.

Properly funding the Fire Department is one problem facing the cash-strapped city. One option the City Council is considering is to disband the city department and contract with the county for fire protection services.

On a 3-2 vote Monday, the council directed city staff to begin negotiations with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Faced with a $10.5-million deficit and a $7-million shortfall in its $27-million budget for the fiscal year 1995-96, the council must decide whether the city can afford to keep its own fire department or whether the county could provide similar service at a lower cost.

A county proposal presented in April says it can provide fire protection, hazardous waste removal and emergency medical services to the city for $4.5 million a year, a savings of nearly $1.9 million. The city’s current fire department budget is $6.4 million.

The county proposal identifies various service and cost issues and invites the city to negotiate the details, City Manager Todd W. Argow said.

Under the county’s proposal:

* The city’s three stations would remain open, but the number of firefighters in each would be reduced from 17 to 12. The county said the staff reductions would be offset by six county stations within five miles of the city’s borders, including two right on the city’s Lawndale and Lennox borders.

* All city firefighters would be hired by the county. Firefighters would lose no pay, but many would be demoted because they would have lower seniority than their county colleagues.

* One city fire station would be remodeled to hold a bigger engine.

* A second ambulance would be eliminated from one station, but the county would designate four paramedic units from adjacent county stations to cover the city. Hawthorne would incur $374,020 in conversion costs to be paid over 36 months.

Negotiations will clarify additional expenses or savings not identified in the county’s proposal. For example, the city would lose revenue from fees for fire permits, hazardous materials inspections and ambulance transportation. However, the city would benefit from reduced risk liability and administrative support expenses not included in the Fire Department budget.

Councilwoman Betty J. Ainsworth and Councilman Steve Andersen voted against negotiations. Andersen said the county’s plan did not meet the council’s requirement that the same level of service be met.

“I’m going to keep a careful eye on negotiations,” Andersen said. “I don’t like going from 17 (firefighters per station) to 12. I don’t like losing one paramedic (unit).”

Councilwoman Ginny Lambert said the county plan should be clarified before the council seeks public comment.

Lambert pointed out that the county’s regional coverage plan would mean more firefighters responding to emergency calls.

“What we have now is three stations. What we will have is five stations. We are going to have broader coverage because we will have two more stations,” Lambert said.

Andersen said he would like to see the issue put to the voters. He said the city should ask voters if they would be willing to pay for their own department under a benefit assessment district, in which residents would pay a fee added to their property tax. The fee would go directly to the Fire Department and could not be used for other purposes.

Both city firefighters’ unions support the plan, despite the likelihood that most members would be demoted upon entering the county department.

Many firefighters cite safety concerns, saying the city cannot afford to maintain equipment or provide specialized training such as urban search-and-rescue techniques or hazardous materials training.

But residents who spoke at the meeting expressed concern that the county fire protection services would not be as good as the city’s own department.

Beth Borland lives in Hawthorne but runs a business in an area where the county provides fire and police services. “I can assure you that you do not get the service (by the county) that you do in Hawthorne,” she said.