Supervisors Abandon Plan for Fire Dept. Fee

Facing overwhelming opposition to the idea, Los Angeles County supervisors Thursday killed for at least a year a plan to impose a special assessment on more than 600,000 properties to save seven fire engine companies.

The special assessment, initially $15.73 for a homeowner and as much as $454.41 for a refinery, would have raised about $15 million the first year to maintain county fire services at existing levels. The Fire Department has been suffering in recent years from state budget cutbacks.

Under the proposal, the assessment would have risen gradually over 10 years to a maximum of $31.46 a year for a single home, before expiring under a sunset clause.

Invoked Memory

County Fire Chief John Englund warned that without the assessment, response times to emergencies would increase and that expansion of fire services to growing areas would be delayed. To suggestions that he find the necessary money by trimming waste, Englund said he already runs an “efficient and lean” department and operates with fewer firefighters per engine company than most municipal departments in the county.

The supervisors, after hearing testimony from scores of opponents, some of whom invoked the memory of tax crusader Howard Jarvis in charging that the fee was a thinly disguised tax, scrapped the plan for at least one year. Instead, the supervisors ordered Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon to return Oct. 22 with alternative funding plans to save the engine companies.

The assessment would have been included on annual property tax bills mailed out in October to about 604,000 property owners in some unincorporated areas of the county, as well as to residents of 44 incorporated cities that contract with the county for fire protection.

Supervisor Ed Edelman, one of three board members on hand for the hearing, supported the special assessment. Edelman noted that the assessment is necessary because the county has for years been unsuccessful in persuading the Legislature or the governor to provide more money for fire protection.

No Agreement

But Edelman found no agreement from colleagues Mike Antonovich and Deane Dana, both of whom are facing reelection next year. Antonovich said such an assessment could open the door to similar fees for law enforcement or trash collection. Supervisors Pete Schabarum and Kenneth Hahn were absent.

Englund told reporters after the meeting that the seven fire engine companies, manned by about 75 firefighters, will remain in operation for the time being, but he said he is uncertain where the money to keep them operating will be found.