LAGUNA BEACH : Benefits to Not Joining Fire Authority Cited

The city may save money if it does not join the Orange County Fire Authority, the city manager said in a report Tuesday.

Because of higher wages in the fire authority system, Laguna Beach would likely pay more for less staff if it becomes the 20th city in the regional fire department, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said.

His report found the city would not gain additional fire coverage by transferring to the fire authority and seemed to strengthen the City Council’s position that the city should keep its own Fire Department.

At a meeting Tuesday to discuss the report and hear from the firefighters union, council members said they would consider the issue in more depth at an Oct. 3 session, but expressed a clear preference to keep its independent fire service.

“The support for us to join [the authority] does not exist,” Councilman Wayne J. Baglin said. “The people do not want it.”

The proposal is backed by some Laguna Beach firefighters, who complained Tuesday that low pay and the stop-gap measure of employing relief firefighters without benefits is destroying department morale. Laguna Beach firefighters are paid about $400 less a month than authority staff.

Frank acknowledged that Laguna Beach firefighters are at the bottom of the scale compared to other cities, but said without the utility tax or sales tax revenue of neighboring communities, the city would be hard-pressed to match salaries.