By Eric Bradley
The Press - Telegram
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Fire Department officials and 5th District City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske met Thursday night with residents at the El Dorado Community Center to discuss sobering fire service budget cuts that would include closing an engine company at a local station.
The fire engine at Station 18 in East Long Beach would be replaced with a paramedic unit, a move that is part of about $5 million in departmental reductions announced Tuesday to close a $20.3 million city general fund budget deficit. The City Council has until Sept. 15 to pass a budget for fiscal year 2012, which begins Oct. 1.
Other fire department changes include shrinking nine of the city’s fire engine crews from four people to three, permanently ending the “rolling brownouts” instituted last year that take engines out of service on a rotating basis, mothballing one of the city’s fire trucks and eliminating 27 vacant firefighter positions.
Residents expressed alarm at the prospect of moving to three- firefighter engine staffing, which opponents say flouts the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s “two-in, two-out” standard that mandates that fire personnel never enter a dangerous incident alone.
“I’m concerned that the public safety is being compromised,” said Mary Parsell.
Fire Chief Alan Patalano was sympathetic to resident concerns and said he too would prefer to stay with a four-person response.
But, Patalano said, “What I don’t have is the budget to support 15 four-person engine companies.”
Some in attendance wondered why a three-firefighter response wouldn’t work, since the model is common for Los Angeles and Orange county firefighters and in other Southern California cities such as Redondo Beach.
Schipske, who hosted the meeting and said she is still processing the budget numbers, said it’s not helpful to compare Long Beach to other cities.
“We have a major port. Most of the acreage all of us live on have oil and gas lines underneath,” Schipske said. “We have an airport. It’s difficult when we start saying all these other cities do it. We’re not like other cities.”
City officials say any meaningful solution to Long Beach’s fiscal problems must involve changes to retirement plans.
Long Beach Firefighters Association President Rich Brandt said the fire union has offered to allow reduced benefits for new firefighters, as the city has asked in the past.
And, Brandt said, “We’re willing to pay our fair share of the pensions,” adding that the union has received no response from the city on its most recent offer.
Schipske said that before the budget process is finished, there needs to be more meetings like the one Thursday night - and less rhetoric.
She credited the union for being open to negotiation, even though their contract doesn’t expire until theof 2013.
“The fact that they’re coming to the table when their contract is closed speaks volumes,” Schipske said.
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