N.1. 24-0303 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE COMPARATIVE DEPLOYMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS PREPARED BY CITYGATE ASSOCIATES, LLC. OF THE REDONDO BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT AS COMPARED TO THE CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE REDONDO BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT AND MASTER PLAN
DIRECTION ON NEXT STEPS (IF ANY) REGARDING THE REPORTS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS
I am in strong opposition to any changes in the status of our Redondo Beach Fire Department. Residents demand that the Redondo Beach Fire Department remain under local control. The City Council should take no action on this item. Redondo residents want to maintain local control over fire department budgets, facilities and equipment. Any change in the status of the Redondo Beach Fire Department is unwarranted and did not originate from the community. Redondo residents overwhelmingly support our local fire department and want to keep their services under local control. Any change in the status of the Redondo Beach Fire Department is against the will of Redondo residents.
I echo many of my fellow residents' comments and would advise caution in moving RBFD to LA County. The attached reports provide a lot of information that really need greater review and consideration by all residents before any actions are taken.
I am writing to OPPOSE any action that would cause Redondo Beach to lose its local fire department for the reasons:
1. It is not financially feasible
2. It will not be an improvement to our current services
There is NO WAY we should consider outsourcing our Class 1 Rated RB Fire Department. We would end up paying more for a lower quality of service. I stand with the majority of voters who are vehemently opposed to this action. Thank you.
I am unequivocally against farming out our beloved and valued local FD to LA County. The fact this is coming back up again (after John Gran’s analysis years ago that this would neither be cost effective NOR for the best benefit of the City for many reasons) concerns me. It will cost more for the City to have LA Fire involved and yet we will get less (loss of an engine and personnel). This smacks of special interest involvement. At the very least at I hope this goes to a vote of The People and I hope the D1 Councilman/employee of LA County Lifeguards recuses himself. The appearance of impropriety does not go unnoticed.
My wife and I both oppose consolidating RBFD with any other fire departments. The RBFD has served this community extremely well over the decades! In the long run consolidating RBFD with any LA County Fire Department will cost our city more money,more problems, having to deal with a less efficient Fire Department and a drop in property values. Let's keep this great Fire Department local!! - Sincerely, Ron & Valerie Iacopucci
First, do you think perhaps soliciting feedback from residents as Paige did would have been helpful? Looking at your social media accounts, it appears you ask more about the logo versus important decisions like who should be mayor and keeping our fire department local. By doing so, it looks like you do not value feedback, rather you hope to be able to make decisions without resident input. The Redondo Beach Fire Department is designated as a Class 1 Fire Department by the Insurance Services Office. Less than 1% of all fire departments in the country receive a Class 1 rating. There appears to be no cost savings from losing our own fire department. I believe at one time the argument was Redondo was an inferior work environment, and it was beneficial to fire fighters to make the move, but is that the case? Also, if Nils is employed by the Los Angeles County Fire Department per his LinkedIn page, doesn't that create a conflict of interest? If Christian, Paige, Laura had a similar conflict, would Todd, Nils and Zein make a case that they should recuse themself? It is very unsettling that if Paige had not emailed the community, this could have happened under the radar as there has been zero communication about an issue that impacts so many residents. Please Redondo City Council, can you at least try to do the right thing and solicit ample resident input (like you are doing for the logo) before making these decisions? Why do you not do so? It almost appears like you don't want to know what residents want so you can accomplish your own agenda. I hope I am wrong, but it is extremely unsettling we have to advocate for spending less to have a superior fire department. Any other sane City Council would make the obvious choice and keep the fire department local.
My husband and I both oppose eliminating RBFD. Living in a city with its own fire and police departments was the number 1 requirement/consideration in purchasing a home. As tax payors without children, we feel we are getting our tax dollars' worth by having our own city safety departments. Redondo Beach would not have been considered as a place to purchase, if it relied on county services. PLEASE don't take away the major reason we bought our home. We have attended meetings in the past when this idea was first mentioned and wish we could be there in person on the 16th. Our voices may be heard but, they are never considered. I feel the council has its own agenda -- we elected you to represent us and we our counting on you to keep RBFD;
we would rather pay higher city taxes than lose RBFD. Thank you. Kim and Rich Halloran
Look at LA County’s incompetence with their out of control Sheriff’s Department and Homeless Authority and say we should be comfortable with letting them run our Fire Department. Why do this when it will cost more in the long run. Our excellent Firefighters do a fantastic job. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I would like to know who is responsible for bringing this up over and over again and what is their motive?
This is such a terrible idea. Who keeps bringing this up for discussion? We need to keep our fire department in local control and not outsource to LA County. We see how LA County Sheriff is doing, and we don't need anything like that in our city. Please stop bringing this up for discussion.
Why does this subject keep coming up for debate? The residents of RB have repeatedly said they want the Fire Department to stay local. If it costs more money, vote NO. Why on earth would the City Council want to spend MORE to outsource services? Shouldn’t that money be used within our community?
I have paid attention to this issue for years. I strongly support keeping the Fire Department local. KEEP the Redondo Beach Fire Department and please stop spending more money on this issue.
No more analysis. We want our Fire Department to be LOCAL. This is as true now as it was back 2019 when it was voted 3-2 to not go any further with a study looking at the feasibility of merging its Fire Department with Los Angeles County. Leave our Redondo Beach Fire Department alone.
I am a long-time Redondo Beach resident. I vehemently oppose the elimination of the Redondo Beach City Fire Department. We need to keep our current staffing levels. The city is not reducing the city population. We are growing. Contracting with the LA County Fire Department would not offer the level of service our residents need and deserve. Thank you for considering my comment.
Why should we pay more for less service?
Why take on heavier pension obligations than we currently have?
Let's remain independent and use the millions of dollars saved towards modernizing and expanding Station 2.
Station 2, serving North RB and making the most service calls is also the smallest at 3,000 sf.
Station 1, serving South RB, is the largest at 5,600 sf.
Our city plans to put most of the new housing in NRB, thus, we desperately need money to modernize & expand Station 2.
We don't need to spend money joining LACFD. We need the money right here, in NRB.
When my parent's house on Fisk Lane in North Redondo caught on fire a few years ago, the fire department was there in about 3 minutes. From the time we heard the sirens on Grant Ave to the time they arrived, it was 3 minutes. An electric lawnmower spontaneously caught fire while charging. The company's recommended idle state was plugged in and charging. We followed the instructions. If the fire department was further away, part of a consolidated LA County station, we would have been forced to wait longer and the house would have been lost. That's why we have separate Fire, Police, Schools, and other departments, so we can give our city special attention. I suspect that debt and pensions are driving this conversation, but this is a bad idea. FInd another way.
Do not vote to eliminate our Redondo beach fire department to join with LA county. This is bad for Redondo beach residents. Our town deserves our own fire department and nothing good will come to our residents by joining the ever bureaucratic and inefficient LA county.
I am in strong opposition to any changes in the status of our Redondo Beach Fire Department. Residents demand that the Redondo Beach Fire Department remain under local control. The City Council should take no action on this item. Redondo residents want to maintain local control over fire department budgets, facilities and equipment. Any change in the status of the Redondo Beach Fire Department is unwarranted and did not originate from the community. Redondo residents overwhelmingly support our local fire department and want to keep their services under local control. Any change in the status of the Redondo Beach Fire Department is against the will of Redondo residents.
I echo many of my fellow residents' comments and would advise caution in moving RBFD to LA County. The attached reports provide a lot of information that really need greater review and consideration by all residents before any actions are taken.
Even if there is a cost savings to moving from our local RB fire department to the County, I would be opposed. Some things are worth paying for.
I am writing to OPPOSE any action that would cause Redondo Beach to lose its local fire department for the reasons:
1. It is not financially feasible
2. It will not be an improvement to our current services
There is NO WAY we should consider outsourcing our Class 1 Rated RB Fire Department. We would end up paying more for a lower quality of service. I stand with the majority of voters who are vehemently opposed to this action. Thank you.
I am unequivocally against farming out our beloved and valued local FD to LA County. The fact this is coming back up again (after John Gran’s analysis years ago that this would neither be cost effective NOR for the best benefit of the City for many reasons) concerns me. It will cost more for the City to have LA Fire involved and yet we will get less (loss of an engine and personnel). This smacks of special interest involvement. At the very least at I hope this goes to a vote of The People and I hope the D1 Councilman/employee of LA County Lifeguards recuses himself. The appearance of impropriety does not go unnoticed.
My wife and I both oppose consolidating RBFD with any other fire departments. The RBFD has served this community extremely well over the decades! In the long run consolidating RBFD with any LA County Fire Department will cost our city more money,more problems, having to deal with a less efficient Fire Department and a drop in property values. Let's keep this great Fire Department local!! - Sincerely, Ron & Valerie Iacopucci
First, do you think perhaps soliciting feedback from residents as Paige did would have been helpful? Looking at your social media accounts, it appears you ask more about the logo versus important decisions like who should be mayor and keeping our fire department local. By doing so, it looks like you do not value feedback, rather you hope to be able to make decisions without resident input. The Redondo Beach Fire Department is designated as a Class 1 Fire Department by the Insurance Services Office. Less than 1% of all fire departments in the country receive a Class 1 rating. There appears to be no cost savings from losing our own fire department. I believe at one time the argument was Redondo was an inferior work environment, and it was beneficial to fire fighters to make the move, but is that the case? Also, if Nils is employed by the Los Angeles County Fire Department per his LinkedIn page, doesn't that create a conflict of interest? If Christian, Paige, Laura had a similar conflict, would Todd, Nils and Zein make a case that they should recuse themself? It is very unsettling that if Paige had not emailed the community, this could have happened under the radar as there has been zero communication about an issue that impacts so many residents. Please Redondo City Council, can you at least try to do the right thing and solicit ample resident input (like you are doing for the logo) before making these decisions? Why do you not do so? It almost appears like you don't want to know what residents want so you can accomplish your own agenda. I hope I am wrong, but it is extremely unsettling we have to advocate for spending less to have a superior fire department. Any other sane City Council would make the obvious choice and keep the fire department local.
My husband and I both oppose eliminating RBFD. Living in a city with its own fire and police departments was the number 1 requirement/consideration in purchasing a home. As tax payors without children, we feel we are getting our tax dollars' worth by having our own city safety departments. Redondo Beach would not have been considered as a place to purchase, if it relied on county services. PLEASE don't take away the major reason we bought our home. We have attended meetings in the past when this idea was first mentioned and wish we could be there in person on the 16th. Our voices may be heard but, they are never considered. I feel the council has its own agenda -- we elected you to represent us and we our counting on you to keep RBFD;
we would rather pay higher city taxes than lose RBFD. Thank you. Kim and Rich Halloran
Look at LA County’s incompetence with their out of control Sheriff’s Department and Homeless Authority and say we should be comfortable with letting them run our Fire Department. Why do this when it will cost more in the long run. Our excellent Firefighters do a fantastic job. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I would like to know who is responsible for bringing this up over and over again and what is their motive?
This is such a terrible idea. Who keeps bringing this up for discussion? We need to keep our fire department in local control and not outsource to LA County. We see how LA County Sheriff is doing, and we don't need anything like that in our city. Please stop bringing this up for discussion.
Why does this subject keep coming up for debate? The residents of RB have repeatedly said they want the Fire Department to stay local. If it costs more money, vote NO. Why on earth would the City Council want to spend MORE to outsource services? Shouldn’t that money be used within our community?
I have paid attention to this issue for years. I strongly support keeping the Fire Department local. KEEP the Redondo Beach Fire Department and please stop spending more money on this issue.
Keep our FD local!
No more analysis. We want our Fire Department to be LOCAL. This is as true now as it was back 2019 when it was voted 3-2 to not go any further with a study looking at the feasibility of merging its Fire Department with Los Angeles County. Leave our Redondo Beach Fire Department alone.
I am a long-time Redondo Beach resident. I vehemently oppose the elimination of the Redondo Beach City Fire Department. We need to keep our current staffing levels. The city is not reducing the city population. We are growing. Contracting with the LA County Fire Department would not offer the level of service our residents need and deserve. Thank you for considering my comment.
Please keep RB Fire Department. I do not want to see our fire department replaced with LA County Fire department.
Why should we pay more for less service?
Why take on heavier pension obligations than we currently have?
Let's remain independent and use the millions of dollars saved towards modernizing and expanding Station 2.
Station 2, serving North RB and making the most service calls is also the smallest at 3,000 sf.
Station 1, serving South RB, is the largest at 5,600 sf.
Our city plans to put most of the new housing in NRB, thus, we desperately need money to modernize & expand Station 2.
We don't need to spend money joining LACFD. We need the money right here, in NRB.
When my parent's house on Fisk Lane in North Redondo caught on fire a few years ago, the fire department was there in about 3 minutes. From the time we heard the sirens on Grant Ave to the time they arrived, it was 3 minutes. An electric lawnmower spontaneously caught fire while charging. The company's recommended idle state was plugged in and charging. We followed the instructions. If the fire department was further away, part of a consolidated LA County station, we would have been forced to wait longer and the house would have been lost. That's why we have separate Fire, Police, Schools, and other departments, so we can give our city special attention. I suspect that debt and pensions are driving this conversation, but this is a bad idea. FInd another way.
Do not vote to eliminate our Redondo beach fire department to join with LA county. This is bad for Redondo beach residents. Our town deserves our own fire department and nothing good will come to our residents by joining the ever bureaucratic and inefficient LA county.