O.C. Fire Authority Lobbyist Gets Raise

The law firm that helped the Orange County Fire Authority lobby against an Assembly bill that would have changed its operations will be paid an additional $3,000 a month, fire officials decided Thursday.

Nielson, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller & Naylor of Sacramento, on retainer to the fire authority since 1996, will now get $7,500 a month to provide legal advice and lead state lobbying efforts.

In February, the law firm led the fight against a bill by state Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) that would have increased the powers of the agency’s eight-member executive committee and redistributed the annual budget among the 21 cities served by the agency.

On Thursday, Maddox questioned why the fire authority would pay for more services from Nielson, Merksamer, given that his bill has been amended to deal only with funding and will not be reintroduced on the Assembly floor until January.

“It’s amusing that they want to spend thousands of dollars on a bill that’s not even proceeding,” Maddox said in a telephone interview from Sacramento.

The fire authority board, which is composed of two county supervisors and one council member from each of 21 participating cities, says the money will not go specifically toward fighting the Maddox legislation.

“We’ve seen an increased need for people to represent us at the state level when we can’t be there,” said Sherri M. Butterfield, a fire authority board member and Mission Viejo councilwoman. “Right now, we’re tracking 18 to 20 bills . . . that would benefit emergency services.”

In March, the fire authority also retained the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips of Washington for $5,000 a month to lobby on several issues, including Maddox’s bill.

Fire authority Chairman Shawn Boyd, a Seal Beach City Council member, said there is plenty of work for both firms, given the agency’s interests in federal, state and local issues.

Maddox’s original bill, based on the premise that the size of the fire authority’s board makes its decision-making cumbersome, would have granted the agency’s executive committee the same decision-making rights as the board of directors. It also would have reallocated the budget so that cities receive services proportionate to what they pay.