The Hermosa Beach police officer and firefighters’ unions issued a joint statement last week criticizing the city for seeking to make a “crippling” 27 percent cut to the employee salary and benefits package.
The police union is claiming that the proposed cuts will have a detrimental effect on public safety.
If the city imposes its proposed cuts this year, Hermosa Beach would have the lowest overall compensation for police officers, union officials said. That might mean veteran officers would apply elsewhere, leaving inexperienced officers as the main applicants for jobs. As a result, union leaders believe Los Angeles County would eventually have to take over emergency services in the city.
“We have managed up to this point to do more with less, but another 27 percent cut will force most of us out of our jobs, making a county takeover likely,” said Jaime Ramirez, president of the Hermosa Beach Police Officer Association.
City council members were reluctant to comment on the specifics of the unions’ statement.
“The city of Hermosa Beach values its employees and their views,” Mayor Jeff Duclos said. “But the intent of this document is to provoke rather than be fair and factual. I can assure you we will continue to negotiate in good faith with employees and look forward to concluding negotiations in the coming weeks. We will not conduct labor negotiations through the media.”
Duclos said he is hopeful negotiations wrap up before the new city manager Tom Bakaly begins working Sept. 4.
The Hermosa Beach Police Department is short eight positions, according to the police officers’ union. Unsolicited applications from experienced officers to the police department has slowed considerably since a two-tier retirement structure was implemented two years ago as part of the city’s cost-cutting measures, according to union officials.
Staffing shortages have left the Hermosa Beach Fire Department able to respond to only one medical emergency at a time, which means the city must rely on neighboring communities, the statement said. The fire department is the only one in the county without dedicated fire prevention personnel or a battalion chief, according to the firefighters’ union.
“For those of us committed to risking our lives to save others, it seems that the City Council has lost sight of its number one priority, which is to protect the community,” said Aaron Marks, president of the Hermosa Beach Firefighter Association.
Positions left unfilled because of departures include a mechanic, community resource director, assistant fire chief and city engineer, union officials said.
Union officials said the city of Hermosa Beach is in fine financial shape, with a four percent projected revenue increase. They added that the settlement of the Macpherson Oil claim earlier in the year has also provided financial stability that does not justify deeper cuts to employee pay packages.
The union sent a mailer to homes with its position, and said another is in the works.
Mayor Pro Tem Kit Bobko said the issue is legacy costs, not public safety.
“I reject the premise that these are cuts,” Bobko said. “No one has ever talked about reducing positions. We certainly haven’t talked about going to the county. The only time you hear those things is when the public employees talk about them. I reject the argument that having people pay a portion – not even the entirety but a portion – of their retirement costs somehow has a detrimental impact on public safety.”
Editor’s Note: In a statement released Wednesday at 5:13 p.m. by the city’s public relations consulting firm, Fiona Hutton & Associates, Fire Chief David Lantzer said: “The City of Hermosa Beach and its neighboring cities have worked together for several years under an automatic mutual aid agreement that ensures quick responses to all medical emergencies in the Beach Cities. Staffing changes haven’t changed Hermosa Beach’s ability to respond to emergencies or increased its reliance on neighboring cities to assist with medical emergencies.”
