Firefighters' union, Ford rip ICMA report

A week after the city presented the findings of a comprehensive review of its emergency services, members of the local firefighters’ union, residents and County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach) questioned the report at the Jan. 20 City Council meeting and criticized officials over proposed firefighter cuts.

Among the key findings of the report, which was conducted by the International City/County Management Association’s Center for Public Safety Management, based in Washington, D.C., was that the Long Beach Fire Department does not have established operating guidelines and procedures, and that there is a “lack of direction” for both career and volunteer firefighters. It recommended a full-time fire commissioner to run the department, a switch from the current volunteer position, while also restructuring its hierarchy. And while it found that response times met or exceeded standards, the report said there is room for improvement.

Some people claimed that the report unfairly singled out the Fire Department’s career unit, with one career firefighter saying that the city was “balancing its budget on the back of the union.”

But city and Fire Department officials emphasized that the closure of the Long Beach Medical Center, which has led to longer turnaround times for ambulances and has strained Fire Department resources, was a “driving force” behind the $55,000 study.

The report comes at a time when the city and union are at odds over the planned layoffs of five firefighters set for Feb. 15, after a nearly $1 million federal grant that funded the positions ended in December. The report also noted the city’s ongoing financial challenges, coupled with the costs of Hurricane Sandy.

In a prepared statement, council President Anthony Eramo lauded ICMA’s credentials and said that the hospital’s closure poses significant public safety challenges, but emphasized that officials would consider residents’ input before choosing one of two options ICMA recommended the city implement to boost efficiency and save taxpayers millions of dollars: “civilianize” its EMS service, or develop a public-private partnership for EMS functions.