CA City Scraps Plans to Merge with County FD

Mar. 3—Following years of study and community debate, the La Verne Fire Department will continue to operate independently after city leaders rejected negotiating further over a possible contract with Los Angeles County.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council this week agreed to notify the county that it will cease talks for a possible contract that would have placed the city's fire and emergency medical services under county supervision.

The decision was made as a deadline neared to refer the issue to voters this June.

With its vote Monday, Feb. 28, the council brought an end to a chapter of uncertainty for the 110-year-old Fire Department that for the past few years has faced a range of issues — from complaints about lack of leadership to recruitment and retention of staff. Negotiations with the county have been ongoing since June 2019 when the city requested an initial feasibility study.

In a presentation to the council Monday, fire Chief Christopher Nigg and City Manager Bob Russi outlined how a fire department run by LA County would compare to existing city services.

Among the notable findings, Nigg said keeping the fire department city-run would mean more available resources on any given day. The department currently operates two fire stations with 10 personnel, one ladder truck and two ambulances on hand per shift. In total, the department has 36 full-time employees.

Fire Station No. 3, located at 5100 Esperanza Drive, is expected to reopen next month, Nigg said. It would give the city three operating fire stations for the first time since January 2020, when the station closed due to staffing shortages.

If the Fire Department transitioned to county control, the city would lose a fire station, two personnel, its ladder truck and one ambulance on hand per shift, according to Nigg.

On the administrative side, the department would also lose Nigg as chief. His role would have been filled by an LA County fire administrator who would also represent nine neighboring cities.

The one-time costs to convert to LA County fire were estimated at $1.9 million. Meanwhile, according to estimates shared by Nigg, contracting with the county would increase the cost for services by $1.1 million in 2023. That figure would rise to $1.7 million by 2025.

The Fire Department's current budget is $10.2 million and is expected to increase to $11.9 million by 2025, according to the city.

Nigg said after reviewing LA County fire's proposal, residents would receive a "reduced level of service within the city limits" under a contract.

"It is my professional opinion as your fire chief that our city is still best served by La Verne's own fire department," Nigg said.

In November, Nigg proposed a new deployment plan, which was ultimately approved by the council, that would create new positions, re-staff ambulances and develop an internal candidate pool for firefighters. The results so far have been promising, Nigg said on Monday.

Since the plan's approval, the department has received 625 applications for firefighter and firefighter/paramedic positions and more than 110 ambulance operator applicants.

"These are numbers this department has never seen before,." Nigg said.

Before the vote Monday, Councilmember Robin Carder spoke of the countless residents who raised concerns over the past few years about the impact the department has had on their lives.

"It's something we want to preserve and treasure," Carder said of the city's Fire Department.

Mayor Tim Hepburn said it was time for the city to "stop kicking the can down the road" and pave a sustainable future for the department.

"I want to make sure what we do up here today stands in infamy as far as having our own services," Hepburn said.

A boisterous round of applause was heard from the audience, which was filled with Fire Department personnel who cheered the council's unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, Monday's meeting also provided preliminary findings from the Standards of Cover and Community Risk Analysis that offers recommendations on how to best utilize fire and emergency service resources to meet the community's needs. A final report is expected in the coming months.

Early findings from the report show the northern portion of the city is at very high risk for wildfires, said Kurt Latipow, vice president of operations at AP Triton, the firm conducting the analysis. The foothills that surround La Verne are state owned, contracted to LA County fire to manage, Latipow said.

"The risk is not yours alone to manage, however, it does have the potential of impacting your community," Latipow added.

On the other hand, he said, staffing Fire Station No. 3 would close a response gap in the area and support enhanced coverage during times of high call volume.

There are also concerns about the arrival of the LA Metro L line, formerly Gold Line, in 2025 and the resulting development around the station for the light-rail service. With expected population growth near the downtown corridor, Latipow said enhancing staffing in that area will be necessary.

"At some point there will be some significant decisions made on staffing and apparatus," Latipow said. "As those developments stand up, it will impact the response and the demand on your Fire Department."

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