Board prepares to slash fire agency positions to contain costs

At least 11 firefighter positions could be eliminated under a cost containment plan Riverside County supervisors will consider next week.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a budget hearing Tuesday afternoon to discuss whether to proceed with reducing the fire department workforce, closing a fire station and making other changes to pare down a $12 million deficit in the agency’s accounts.

Board members wrestled with the proposed austerity measures during their meeting earlier this week, but lacking a majority consensus, they deferred a final decision to Tuesday.

A cost containment plan needs to be in place as soon as possible because the county’s contract with Cal Fire is coming due, and the board is legally obligated to give the state a 120-day notice of modification to contract terms. The revised contract would be three years in duration, unlike the current five-year agreement.

In addition to cutting 11 uniformed positions, the board’s Fire Ad-Hoc Committee, co-chaired by Supervisors Kevin Jeffries and John Tavaglione, is recommending closure of Fire Station No. 43 in Blythe, dissolving one of the county’s two hazardous materials teams, as well as a medic squad in Mecca, and reclassifying 50 personnel to save money. Fifteen administrative positions are also on the chopping block.

Jeffries, a former fireman, acknowledged during the most recent board meeting that making adjustments will be uncomfortable, but he pointed out that if nothing is done, “we’re going to have to take money from animal services, the county hospital, code enforcement and the Economic Development Agency.”

“When we lose other services, we’ll have to answer for that,” he said. “Are we prepared to tell the hospital it won’t get its $20 million? Do we take our reserves down from where they are now?”

Tavaglione was most unhappy with the administrative fee imposed on the county as part of its contract with Cal Fire. The charge, related to managing back office operations under the contract, is up to $20.8 million — a 40 percent increase compared to five years ago.

“We deserve more attention than we’ve been getting,” the supervisor said. “We have the largest (Cal Fire) contract in the state. We’re not playing games here. We expect the state to work with us.”

County Fire Chief John Hawkins on March 7 had proposed, as a money conservation measure, moving away from three-person engines wherever possible and utilizing two-person medic patrol units capable of hauling 250 gallons of water to handle some calls. But the committee rejected the idea, preferring to continue the board-mandated concept of staffing every fire engine with a minimum of three crew members.

The departmental deficit stems largely from a jump in labor costs tied to union agreements. The county relies on more than 1,000 state firefighters to respond to emergencies countywide.

According to the committee, the recommended changes would net roughly $5.2 million in direct savings in the fiscal year 2017-18. An additional $2.5 million in reserves would reduce the fire department’s overall deficit to $4.16 million, officials said.

Fire Capt. Brian White told the board this week that any push to eliminate “leadership positions” would further diminish the department’s collective experience level.

“There is a mass exodus from the fire department, and it’s happening at an alarming rate,” White said. “Firefighter-paramedics are leaving for other agencies faster than we can hire them.”