Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Department Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fire department seeks funding to shore up payroll systems, station maintenance and street‑medicine expansion
Summary
LAFD leaders told the Budget Committee the proposed FY25‑26 budget increases firefighting funding by about 13 percent but flagged urgent needs: payroll integration, maintenance mechanics, turnout‑gear cleaning, backup dispatch, and funding for an expanded street medicine/homeless‑response effort.
Los Angeles Fire Department representatives told the Budget Committee the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget increases the department’s allocation by about 13 percent and includes new positions for operational needs — but they highlighted gaps that remain and projects that require sustained investment.
Interim Chief Ronnie Villanueva and administrative leaders said additional funding would help modernize a problematic payroll and scheduling system and cover long‑deferred maintenance for apparatus and facilities. The department asked for $1,700,000 for payroll‑integration software and associated staffing to replace a legacy scheduling system and provide accurate pay and scheduling interfaces with Workday. “It’s been a couple years that our members have not been paid correctly,” the chief told the committee, urging that the integration is necessary to get firefighters paid accurately and on time.
The department also requested funding for additional mechanics (about 14–15 positions named in discussion) and $1,500,000 for contracted advanced turnout gear cleaning, while noting donations from the department foundation are covering some extractor purchases. LAFD said it is pursuing plans for a parallel dispatch/backup center to avoid a single point of failure at its operations center and that the department is coordinating foundation and city funding to develop that capability in advance of planned global events.
On homelessness response, LAFD presented a package that funds fast response vehicles (FRVs), Advanced Practitioner Response Units (APRUs), two basic life support ambulances and supervisory staffing for a proposed street‑medicine/street‑assistance program. The department estimated roughly 67 full‑time staff in one element referenced in discussion and described the program as intended to operate alongside existing non‑sworn street‑medicine teams and community partners. Committee members asked for a memo clarifying precisely how the LAFD street‑medicine units would coordinate with other city programs (CIRCLE, UMCR and county providers) and for cost breakdowns comparing the department’s proposed street‑medicine teams with existing community and nonprofit providers.
Council members also requested memos on ambulance fee reimbursements (Medi‑Cal/EMS revenue), fee recovery and film‑unit cost recovery, and the cost of replacing or triaging aging helicopters and aircraft maintenance. LAFD said it intends to continue recruitment and paramedic pipeline partnerships with local colleges and that recent classes are nearing capacity.
