The Daily News of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — Weeks before Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa releases his budget for next fiscal year, Los Angeles Fire Commission members pressed Tuesday for the full restoration of funding to the Los Angeles Fire Department, which has lost about $90 million during budget cuts in the last three years.
Commission members are essentially calling for a reversal of the redeployment plan approved by the City Council last year that reduced available firefighting resources, but increased medical response capabilities in some areas. With a handful of City Council members now backing the full restoration of LAFD funds — but Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa remaining silent on the issue — the department’s finances are expected to draw attention during the upcoming budget talks.
“We’re talking public safety...we have cut too deeply,” said Commission President Genethia Hudley-Hayes, who was appointed by Villaraigosa.
Hudley-Hayes joined her colleagues Tuesday in supporting a motion — introduced last week by City Councilman Eric Garcetti — that seeks to raise funding at the department to pre-2008 levels. The group also moved to back a motion by City Councilman Paul Koretz to immediately return funds to the department.
Both moves are supported by Pat McOsker, head of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, a persistent critic of the LAFD cuts.
But how to fund the department is another question.
A $220 million deficit looms for next fiscal year, and Villaraigosa last week cautioned that more layoffs are a possibility for city workers.
Garcetti aide Yusef Robb said his office’s motion instructs the city’s top budget chief, Miguel Santana, to explore ways to fund the department.
“This is a heavy lift,” Robb acknowledged. “But we want the department to get back to full strength.”
Over the last few weeks, union representatives, LAFD executives and city leaders have met to discuss Fire Department resources and next year’s budget.
McOsker said he’d like to see funds shifted from sources such as the Community Redevelopment Agency, the city-state entity that was dissolved earlier this year. Hudley-Hayes also mentioned using funds from the CRA, but it’s unclear if those monies are available.
Additionally, the city’s reserve funds could also help pay for LAFD’s services, McOsker said.
Villaraigosa’s office declined to comment on any matters related to the budget, including whether funding will increase next year at the department, said spokesman Peter Sanders.
If the City Council pushes for increased LAFD funds, where those monies are headed within the department will be scrutinized.
McOsker was critical of some ideas on where to spend the funds within the LAFD. One idea being bandied about City Hall is to lift the moratorium of taking new recruits at Frank Hotchkiss Training Academy.
But hiring isn’t a priority right now, McOsker said, given that there aren’t enough vacancies to justify it.
“The most efficient time to start hiring firefighters again is when you have 100 field vacancies,” McOsker said. “We aren’t there.”
Meanwhile, the commission’s support follows public concern over existing cuts and the impact on the LAFD’s ability to respond to fires and medical emergencies.
Last month, LAFD acknowledged that inaccurate response times were used during last year’s budget discussions. The admission was troubling not only to the public, but to City Council members who voted to reduce resources at the Fire Department based on that data.
Complicating issues for the City Council — which will once again be scrutinizing response times during this year’s budget talks — is that the LAFD hasn’t publicly released response times in a format that the general public can understand.
A pending audit by City Controller Wendy Greuel of those response times is expected to provide more clarity on the issue. But it’s unclear if her audit will be delivered before the City Council takes up the budget.
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