Bid to Cut Fire Board Draws Ire of Members

The Orange County Fire Authority took the unusual step Thursday of opposing a proposed Assembly bill that would disassemble its governing board--even though the legislation has yet to be written.

State Rep. Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) introduced a “place-holder” bill--aptly called AB911--earlier this month with the intent of restructuring the powerful 23-member board and replacing it with a five-member elected board.

Maddox said he has until Feb. 23 to submit the actual language for the bill. But Fire Authority board members voted to fight the bill and resist any change. The board also agreed to ask each city in the county and the county itself to push for the bill’s defeat.

Maddox said the board, which controls a $150-million budget, is unwieldy, changes members frequently and at times has struggled to get a quorum. Each city that belongs to the authority-- 21 in all--names a council member to the board. Two county supervisors also serve.

“Each board director ends up looking at their own city’s interests and not the interests of the region as a whole,” said Maddox.

Past problems encountered by the authority have been resolved, said Battalion Chief Scott Brown, a spokesman for the authority. For example, the board has solved its vexing funding issues, has 10-year service contracts in place and is planning a new headquarters in Irvine, he said.

The board wrestled for about a year with how to equalize fire service among cities. Some pay through property taxes and end up subsidizing other cities that pay from general revenue.

“It’s a completely different landscape,” Brown said. “You could make a strong argument that any large organization is going to have some hiccups along the way.”

Maddox has drawn opposition from one of his colleagues, State Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Fullerton). Ackerman said the authority should be the one deciding if its board is too large, not legislators.

“It should be done at the local level, not Sacramento jamming it down,” he said.

Though large, the authority board isn’t the biggest in the county: the Orange County Sanitation District has a 25-member board.

The fire authority was formed in 1995 with 19 members and has grown as more cities have joined. With the expectation of cityhood in Aliso Viejo this year, the authority would grow again.

Those who originally formed the authority suspected it might become cumbersome, but city leaders insisted on direct representation. The authority was formed in the wake of the county’s bankruptcy.

“The very reason they opted to belong to a regional fire-protection agency was to have a voice,” Brown said.

Some critics of the bill suggested Maddox was bowing to the influence of firefighter unions, which contributed about $11,000 of the $160,000 he raised last year for his reelection. Firefighters believe negotiating with a large board is difficult. Maddox said he conceived his bill independently of firefighters, who have been working without a contract since the summer.

Maddox said he became aware of the awkward nature of the board in 1997 when he tried, as a Garden Grove councilman, to create a smaller fire authority for several northwestern county cities that would be served by the Garden Grove Fire Department. That attempt failed.

“I understand the argument of economies of scale and having a regional service,” Maddox said. “But I think we negate some of that benefit by having [such a large] board. It’s difficult to know whom to talk to. . . . My goal is to make government leaner and more responsive.”

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The Players

State Rep. Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) proposed a bill this month that would streamline the Orange County Fire Authority. The authority now has 23 members, mostly council members. Except for a pair of county supervisors, the made-over fire authority would have five members who are directly elected by voters.

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City/County Board Member County of Orange Todd Spitzer Thomas W. Wilson Buena Park Patsy Marshall Cypress Frank McCoy Dana Point Harold Kaufman Irvine Chris Mears La Palma Ken Blake Laguna Hills R. Craig Scott Laguna Niguel Joe Brown Laguna Woods Brenda B. Ross Lake Forest Helen Wilson Los Alamitos Marilynn Poe Mission Viejo Sherri M. Butterfield Placentia Chris Lowe Rancho Santa Margarita Carol Gamble San Clemente Susan Ritschel, Vice Chair San Juan Capistrano John Greiner Seal Beach Shawn Boyd, Chair Stanton David John Shawver Tustin Tracy Wills Worley Villa Park Bob Bell Westminster Tony Lam Yorba Linda Ken Ryan

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Source: Orange County Fire Authority