Staffing Has CA City Mulling Merger with Fire Authority

Afters years of attrition in the city’s fire services, Fullerton leaders on Tuesday are expected to decide whether to continue funding a standalone department in the city or contract for its emergency needs with the Orange County Fire Authority, a regional fire agency that provides service to much of the county.

The Fullerton Fire Department has struggled with retention of its personnel amid fiscal challenges in the city overall, officials have said. The city’s leaders last year commissioned a proposal from the OCFA to explore potential cost savings and service enhancements by joining the agency.

The regional fire authority handles emergency medical and fire calls for 23 of Orange County’s 34 cities and unincorporated areas, responding from 77 stations. Some cities have joined with the hope of cutting costs.

But while the OCFA’s initial projections estimated the potential for millions in savings through relinquishing the city’s services to it, actual projections – when factoring in the city’s ongoing costs such as unfunded pension liabilities and workers’ compensation – tip the savings in favor of a Fullerton-run department, according to an analysis of OCFA’s proposal by a consulting group.

The consultant’s report, which was first presented to the City Council during a study session in September, relies on a hypothetical budget for a “sustainable” Fullerton Fire Department to compare with OCFA’s proposal. It notes that under current conditions at the department, “it is not possible to operate with such high levels of turnover on a sustained basis.”

In the last nine years, 74 employees have left the agency, the report said, and those who gave notice “overwhelmingly are due to job offers with surrounding agencies because of the higher rate of pay.”

The analysis noted the agency’s current pay was roughly 16% lower than comparable surrounding departments.

And while Fullerton was benefitting from some savings through a shared command staff agreement with the city of Brea that lasted for a decade, the cities decided to split this year.

Under several comparisons that include a range of cost-of-living adjustments for Fire Department employees and other annual costs to the city, the OCFA’s proposal remained the more costly option compared to a sustainable city department. One-time fees to transition to OCFA (which can be budgeted over eight years), along with the city’s ongoing costs related to unfunded pension liabilities, retiree healthcare and property insurance, among others, add millions per year to OCFA’s projections, the consultants said.

Over all scenarios, the annual average added cost to the city was estimated at $5.47 million if it joined OCFA.

That disparity was projected to shrink some under a proposed plan submitted by the city’s fire chief for “rebuilding” the department if city leaders decided against the OCFA proposal. The chief’s plan calls for boosting employee pay, replacing three aging engines and hiring more firefighters and administrative staff over the next six years.

While higher annual costs are projected under OCFA’s proposal, the consultant’s report notes that there may be benefits of joining the agency that aren’t strictly financial.

City leaders might also consider that contracting with OCFA could free up time for city employees to focus on other municipal tasks, or that the deal would provide access to the fire authority’s regional services, such as urban search and rescue capabilities, a public information team and specialized wildfire equipment.

The OCFA proposal also “appears to be an option that would bring stability to the fire service,” City Manager Eric Levitt wrote in a staff report.

“Currently the department is down approximately 25% of their staff, which means if we maintain the current department, we will see short-term volatility which could impact service levels,” he said.

The City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 5:30 p.m.

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