Public safety agencies are just that ─ public. Paid for by the taxpayers, any municipal agency should be as open as possible when it comes to its operational performance and organizational practices. Transparency creates trust among community members, and can minimize accusations of cronyism and poor behavior by detractors.
To be honest, I’m not really bothered by the Los Angeles Times investigation alleging nepotism due to the high number of employees’ family members being accepted into the Los Angeles County Fire Department. In some ways I expect it ─ the apple not falling far from the tree, as it were. If one was to grow up in a family that values public service, and has a parent who is a member of the fire/EMS family, it would make sense that a lot of department culture would be absorbed.
What is bothersome, however, is the lack of recognition by department leadership that an inordinate number of family members were being hired, without so much of an internal review as to why. If cheating was the root cause, can the city really trust that it is hiring the best and the brightest? If in fact they aren’t, doesn’t that put other department members and the community at risk?
Administration must be acutely aware of these issues. Disclosing them voluntarily would have taken the wind out of the political sails, and this issue would have been much more easily managed. Unfortunately, too many organizations aren’t well monitored by their communities, which can lead to sensational and highly damaging stories like this one.
Being a reactionary department means never being in the driver’s seat of change.
