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Budget panel considers cutting LAFD emergency incident technicians; chiefs warn of safety risk
Summary
The budget committee examined CAO recommendations that would eliminate up to 42 emergency incident technician (EIT) positions in the Fire Department to realize roughly $7.4 million in savings. Fire officials said EITs are more than drivers—EITs form an incident command team and are critical to firefighter accountability and safety.
The Budget and Finance Committee discussed proposals in CAO Memo 82 to eliminate up to 42 emergency incident technician (EIT) positions in the Los Angeles Fire Department as part of a package of cuts. The CAO described the positions as a potential offset that could reduce the department’s payroll needs while allowing re‑deployment of incumbents into constantly staffed positions. The CAO argued such a move could also reduce constant staffing overtime by shifting incumbents into full‑time posts.
Fire officials and multiple council members urged caution. The Fire Department said EITs are not simply drivers; they form a command team responsible for incident accountability, resource tracking and firefighter safety on complex incidents. Fire Chief testimony and examples given in the hearing referenced prior incidents — including near‑misses and fatality events — where the absence of dedicated incident technicians complicated accountability and response. Fire leadership said previous reductions of this function had later required restoration because of safety consequences.
Why it matters: The committee’s staff and the CAO see EIT deletion as a relatively lower‑service‑impact item because incumbents could be reassigned to other sworn positions without formal layoffs. Several council members nonetheless expressed that eliminating EITs risks firefighter safety and would not support cuts that would reduce on‑scene incident command capability.
Committee action: Members asked staff to delay final decisions on those fire line items until later in the day when the department could provide further technical briefings. The committee signaled interest in protecting firefighter positions where possible and asked the CAO and CLA to factor safety implications into any choices about cutting new program add‑backs versus reducing existing capabilities.
Next steps: The CAO will return with options that show how EITs could be redeployed and the projected overtime impacts of each choice. The committee deferred a vote pending a department briefing and further modeling of the public‑safety tradeoffs.
