State Lawmaker Requests Audit of O.C. Fire Authority Funding

The chairwoman of the Assembly’s local government committee has asked for a legislative audit of the financial relationship between the Orange County Fire Authority and cities where additional services have been paid with fire funds.

Assemblywoman Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) said she is concerned that money taken from property taxes earmarked for fire protection in Orange County is being used for such things as tree trimming.

“I am concerned about the possibility of a misappropriation of funds,” Wiggins wrote this week to Assemblyman Fred Keeley (D-Santa Cruz), chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Keeley hadn’t responded by late Thursday.

Wiggins asked for the audit after consulting with Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove), who earlier this month asked for a county grand jury investigation into the Fire Authority’s finances.

Fire Authority Chairman Shawn Boyd of Seal Beach was unaware of Wiggins’ request, but said the agency “has nothing to hide.” He said Maddox has politicized the issue in Sacramento instead of allowing local officials to operate the authority as they see fit.

Maddox has criticized the authority for a 1999 agreement that allowed a handful of cities to dip into a Fire Authority entitlement fund. These cities pay for fire services with taxes, which are greater than what the cities receive in fire services.

The authority approved giving Irvine, for example, about $3.4 million for such projects as modifying traffic signals so emergency vehicle crews could control them remotely, and trimming trees obscuring street signs.

Irvine Councilman Chris Mears, who sits on the authority board, said Wiggins’ letter was a gross distortion. The tree-trimming project, he said, was a small percentage of the extra funds approved for Irvine and fell within the definition of fire protection.

Wiggins said in her letter that cities paying for fire services through taxes have no claim to that money if there is a surplus.

“Indeed, if any of the funds levied by the county . . . were considered truly surplus, the only appropriate remedy would be to reduce the county’s tax levy, not redirect money to selected OCFA member cities,” she wrote.

“You can’t overtax people and then ask for a rebate so you can spend the money on something else,” Maddox said.

Mission Viejo Councilwoman Sherry M. Butterfield, the authority’s past chairwoman, said changing the tax levy would be misguided because costs and budgets fluctuate based on tax collections. The authority in past years grappled with a deficit that reached $4 million.

Butterfield said the authority’s critics appear to have a case of “Irvine envy”--jealousy of the city’s prosperity.