The Board of Los Angeles County Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to place a measure to raise “much-needed” revenue for the Los Angeles County Fire Department on the upcoming March ballot, 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office stated.
[See related story: Long Beach fire chief says staff shortages is causing overtime strain on ambulance crews]
Should voters approve by a two-thirds vote, the resulting parcel tax of $0.06 per square foot would collect approximately $134 million a year from residents. Government parcels, non-profits, and low-income seniors would be exempt from the parcel tax.
According to the press release, the funds would be used to hire and train additional firefighters and paramedics and replace aging safety gear, communications tools and lifesaving rescue equipment.
“Our residents have always been able to count on our LA County firefighters and paramedics in their moment of need, but now they need us,” Hahn said. “Our firefighters are fighting bigger and more dangerous fires, and our paramedics are responding to record numbers of 911 medical calls. Their budget has been stretched to the breaking point, and we cannot take them for granted. This March, voters will have the opportunity to give these men and women the resources they need to do their jobs protecting communities and saving lives each and every day.”
The Los Angeles County Fire Department serves 58 of the county’s 88 cities and all of its unincorporated areas, including county beaches which make up the County’s Consolidated Fire Protection District. The LA County Fire Department is not funded through the County’s general fund. Instead, the Fire District is responsible for raising its own revenue via property taxes collected within the district.
The funding collected has not kept up with the department’s growing resource needs, according to Hahn’s office.
Over the past decade, the demand on the department for emergency medical services has grown exponentially. Since 2008, LA County has seen an over 50% increase in calls for assistance in medical emergencies, such as strokes, heart attacks and car accidents, the press release stated.
In that same time period, there has been less than a 5% increase in paramedic units to respond to those calls. The Fire District currently lacks the funding to meet national standard staffing levels as set by the National Fire Protection Association.
“When you call 911, you know help is coming. For us, this is our 911,” LA County Firefighter/Paramedic Erin Regan was quoted in the press release. “We are asking you for this measure because our firefighters and paramedics in the field need more resources.”
According to the press release, a May 2018 needs assessment found that additional funding is needed to hire and train more firefighters, to maintain, upgrade and replace its safety equipment, emergency-communication systems, facilities, life-saving devices and vehicles.
The Woolsey Fire After Action Review released in October 2019 showed that mutual aid agreements with fire departments across the state failed to bring the needed resources and firefighters to fight Woolsey. Both the Camp Fire and Hill Fire began shortly before the Woolsey Fire, exhausting the fire services mutual aid system up and down the state.
