Fire Department Debate Reignited in Westminster

After years of intense political battles and multimillion-dollar lawsuits, the dust had finally begun to settle in the ongoing saga of city fire services before controversy surfaced again.

Lawsuits prompted by the messy transition from a city-run department to a contract with the Orange County Fire Authority have mostly been resolved, and city officials are enjoying a $1.8-million annual savings.

So the City Council’s recent moves toward reestablishing a city-run fire department--despite the lack of any formal, written complaints about the authority’s service--have left many residents and former and current city leaders baffled.

“We cut out a cancer,” said Craig Schweisinger, a former councilman who was hit with lawsuits from former firefighters and has now started a citizens committee to prevent their possible return. “Why spend millions of dollars . . . to reintroduce that cancer?”

Two City Council members, Margie L. Rice and Mayor Frank Fry Jr., said that while they have no specific problems with the authority’s service, they favor a city-run department--if Westminster can afford one--because it would provide more local control.

A third council member, Joy L. Neugebauer, said she has heard grumblings about the authority that have persuaded her to consider bringing back a city-run fire department.

Their efforts, which include a $15,000 consultant’s study, have brought some old ghosts back to the council dais--including charges of political improprieties and the looming specter of more lawsuits.

Some observers, including county supervisor Charles V. Smith, the city’s former mayor, even believe the brouhaha was a factor in the recent decision of City Manager Bill Smith to resign.

“We just got on the right road, finally we had some money, and now they want to go backward,” said Councilwoman Margaret Shillington, who has joined Councilman Tony Lam in strongly opposing a return to a city fire department. “This whole thing is ludicrous.”

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Problems with the city fire department date back to the early 1990s, when city officials began investigating suspected payroll fraud by firefighters--up to $900,000 in one year. Officials said firefighters had falsified time cards and received overtime for hours they did not work.

Some of the firefighters publicly criticized city leaders and worked on a campaign to oust some council members through a recall election. The effort to recall Lam, former Mayor Smith and former council members Schweisinger and Charmayne S. Bohman failed at the ballot box.

Mistrust between the two groups escalated, with union members charging that the lives of citizens were being put at risk.

A group of firefighters who were fired or disciplined as a result of the overtime probe filed a lawsuit in federal court. In 1995, a jury found that six city officials and council members--only one of whom (Lam) is on the current council--conspired to violate their civil rights.

The group was awarded a staggering $1.9 million in compensatory damages and $570,000 in punitive damages. The city has denied wrongdoing in the case, and has appealed the verdicts.

The long-running controversy appeared to have settled down, until municipal elections in November when Neugebauer, a previous mayor, rejoined the council, and Fry was elected mayor. They took office in late November, and approved in January the consultant’s study to determine whether a city fire department should be reestablished.

Rice, a supporter of the former city firefighters, said the city should never have given up its own fire department.

“I’ve never made a secret of wanting our own department,” she said. “I’ve fought [the authority contract] from the beginning. We’re a full-service city, taxpayers pay for that service, and I don’t think the council had a right to get rid of it.”

Fry said the issue is one of local control.

“I think that if the city can afford it, they should have their own. Thats a big thing, because I don’t know if we can afford it or not, but I think you’re always better off if you have your own.”

Fry said he is holding off on a decision until the consultant’s study is reviewed by the city’s Financial Review Committee. Earl French, the chairman of the committee, said members are awaiting additional information from the consultant, Chris Hunter, and the Fire Authority, and expect to report their findings to the council in April.

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Preliminary results in the study by Hunter, a former Long Beach fire chief, suggest that Westminster could run its own department for about $5 million a year, about the same amount it pays the Fire Authority, but some city officials have questioned that figure. Also proposed are forming a smaller fire authority with surrounding cities and hiring firefighters who are to be laid off when the Long Beach Naval Station closes in the fall.

Meanwhile, the city is apparently bracing for more lawsuits, and the council recently discussed “potential litigation” with the Fire Authority, according to the agenda of a closed-session meeting this week. The city’s attorneys apparently have warned the council that it could be sued if it terminates the authority’s contract, according to those familiar with the situation.

And Shillington has publicly accused Neugebauer of engaging in “political payback” for election support she received from former firefighters--a charge Neugebauer denies--in exchange for her support of a city-run fire department.

“I have no problem with [the authority] remaining with the city if they stop the practice of using ‘paid-call’ firefighters,” Neugebauer said, referring to the practice of using trained citizens to assist firefighters. “I hope we can work with them, but if not, we’ll have to consider other options.”

Fire Authority spokesman Scott Brown said the organization does use paid-call firefighters--similar to reserve police officers--in some emergency situations, but said they are not part of the regular staff.

“Our citizen firefighters provide valuable backup in times of major emergencies or extreme call load,” Brown said. “And despite what some might suggest, they receive formalized fire academy and medical training.”

Noting the lack of any widespread dissatisfaction with the authority, some residents speculate that politics is fueling the entire debate.

“To a lot of people, this looks like payback time,” longtime resident Pat Markel said, adding that it looks like the council is telling the former firefighters, “We’ll get you all back, we promise.”