Council to study proposals for outsourcing fire services

COSTA MESA — The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will discuss if an Orange County Fire Authority proposal to take over firefighting in the city can really lead to millions in annual savings.

OCFA showed city officials three options to cover the city, two of which close fire stations and a third that shuffles manpower around but still saves $2 million a year. The proposal was submitted at the request of Costa Mesa’s firefighters, who said at last week’s council meeting they anticipated budget issues in the years to come and wanted to save the city money and hopefully keep firefighters from being laid off.

The council last week approved distributing more than 200 layoff notices to city workers on the idea they will outsource city services, with firefighters accounting for about half of that. In reality, if the city outsources firefighting, most if not all Costa Mesa firefighters will be absorbed onto the county payroll.

The study session is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.