The City Council on Tuesday night called an end to talks between Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach regarding a potential consolidation of the two cities’ fire departments.
A series of meetings between Hermosa and Redondo’s fire chiefs and city managers have revealed what appear to be insurmountable obstacles to combining the departments. According to a report given by Redondo Beach Fire Department Chief Dan Madrigal on Tuesday night, the biggest difficulties facing consolidation would be Hermosa’s potential loss of patient transportation rights, 911 communications, and significant differences in compensation between the two departments.
“These are some very high level and deep concerns that we have,” Madrigal told the council. “They have a lot of tentacles to it, and to uncouple it is going to be very challenging.”
City Manager Bill Workman also noted that one of the primary rationales for joining the two forces – cost savings – would not be a significant factor.
“I think five years ago there would have been cost savings for both departments, but both departments have gotten really skinny,” Workman said. “Both have taken their operations down to the bone. They are bare bones staffing over there, with one secretary and a chief and everyone else is basically on the floor.”
Councilman Pat Aust, a former RBFD chief, said the Redondo department has been pared down from 73 to 64 personnel since he retired seven years ago. “We have already trimmed a whole lot from that department,” Aust said.
Workman said the biggest single obstacle, however, would be the thorny issue of so-called “201” patient transportation rights. Hermosa currently transports its own patients and generates revenue doing so; Redondo does not, and because of a law enacted in the early 1990s is unlikely to acquire such rights. If the two departments consolidated, Workman said, it is possible that Hermosa could lose those rights.
“That is probably the number one issue for Redondo Beach and Hermosa,” Workman said. “We were thinking we might be able to acquire those rights…We believe that is not the case now.”
Emergency communications also present a problem. Hermosa is currently under contract with the Regional Communications Center, while the Redondo police and fire departments operate their own 911 communication center. The cost for either agency to switch, Madrigal said, would be substantial.
“Somebody has to make a move, and that move is going to be costly,” Madrigal said.
Workman added that Redondo’s 911 communications are more technologically advanced.
Finally, the consolidation would run into payroll issues. Redondo’s human resources department would have to add staffing to administer Hermosa’s department, according to Workman, and HBFD firefighters earn higher levels of compensation than their RBPD counterparts.
“There is, very frankly, a difference between what our firefighters standing next to each other get paid,” Workman said. “A Redondo Beach firefighter is more affordable than a Hermosa firefighter….that would be a difficult administering of compensation plans, having two people doing very similar jobs getting paid differently.”
Aust said that the problem is the reverse of when the departments considered consolidation in 1994. He said then, Redondo had an older – and thus higher paid – fire department.
“We were the old guys and they were the young guys…well, it’s the other way now,” Aust said. “We’ve got the young guys and they’ve got old guys.”
A final report on the consolidation wasn’t due until August. But council members suggested putting a quicker end to the matter.
“I just think this is a waste of time,” Councilman Bill Brand said. “I just think it’s a brick wall.”
“I have no interest in you continuing any further,” Councilman Steve Aspel told the fire chief. “I think it’s a complete waste of time.”
Brand suggested that, given its current fiscal crisis, that the city receive a free estimate of what it would cost for Los Angeles County to take over the fire department.
“I think we should contact the county and ask them to do a preliminary study,” Brand said, stressing that he didn’t necessarily want to contract out to the county but thought it was a matter of due diligence. “Don’t get me wrong.”
Workman said staff could be directed to look into the matter at a budget workshop next week.
Mayor Mike Gin suggested that the city look into two other avenues – the potential for something short of consolidation with Hermosa that would take the form of providing contract service to their fire department, and engaging in talks with both Hermosa and Manhattan Beach city officials about a larger combining of forces.
Aspel, though skeptical, suggested Gin have lunch with the mayors from the two other cities. But his motion, approved unanimously, put an end to current consolidation talks with Hermosa.
“We are going to have [Madrigal] do all this stuff to make everyone happy and come back with a report that we are not going to approve anyway,” Aspel said. “Now that’s democracy in action.” ER
