City Decides to Stay With County Fire Service
After several months of discussion, the City Council has decided to continue using the Los Angeles County fire service, saying complaints have been few and the cost of reinstating a city department is too high.
Council members reached that conclusion this week after city staff estimated the cost of buying equipment for a new Pomona fire department would be about $10.3 million.
Pomona has contracted with the county since 1994. The change from city to county service caused a division among City Council members and the community and led to a lawsuit. The city paid $387,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit by former Fire Chief G. John Parker, who lost his position in the switch to the county service.
According to city officials, Pomona has saved about $2 million annually since the switch, and a change back would cost about that much more each year.
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