By Annie Kim
The Orange County Register
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. — Huntington Beach extends Fountain Valley informal offer of combining services, posts.
The city may soon share a fire chief with Huntington Beach, becoming the latest Orange County city to look at sharing services to cut costs.
Huntington Beach officials confirmed that an informal offer has been made to Fountain Valley, which has been looking to fill the position since Chief Bill Walker left in May.
“We’re waiting to hear back,” said Huntington Beach City Manager Fred Wilson.
Wilson said the two cities are evaluating a variety of issues necessary to make the change. They include supervision duties, how much time the fire chief would spend with the Fountain Valley staff, who would handle day-to-day issues, and compensation for Huntington Beach.
Fountain Valley Personnel Manager Jean Hirai said it is too early to determine if the city will outsource the fire chief position but expects a decision before the end of the year.
The city is looking at three possibilities, including contracting with the Orange County Fire Authority, outsourcing the position to another city or hiring a new chief, Hirai said. The position is currently filled by interim Chief Mike Macey, the former fire chief of Laguna Beach.
Huntington Beach has already committed to find ways of sharing services with its neighbors Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
The City Council voted last week to contribute up to $27,225 for a study that will look at how police SWAT, lifeguard, jail, animal control, and police and fire dispatch services can be shared among the three cities. The funds will go toward reimbursing Newport Beach, the lead agency in this agreement, for the five-month $81,675 study.
Elsewhere, Anaheim, Fullerton and Orange are examining the possibility of merging their fire departments. The cities earlier this year hired Sacramento-based Citygate Associates to conduct a six-month study for an estimated $75,000 to $100,000.
Fountain Valley shares a dispatch and training center with Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove outsources a city clerk to Fountain Valley for 10 hours a week.
Huntington Beach Fire Chief Patrick McIntosh confirmed that he is willing to take the Fountain Valley position but said he doesn’t know if he will be able to handle both cities until an agreement can be reached.
“What we can share is going to depend on in-depth discussion of what services and to what degree,” McIntosh said.
Fountain Valley City Councilman John Collins said the council is not focusing on any particular option. The decision will ultimately depend on a cost-benefit analysis, he said.
“It will depend on how much money you save and what you give up” he said. “We’re not going to give up quality of public safety or response time.”
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