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City committee directs staff to prepare ballot options for LAFD facilities and staffing
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council Rules Committee voted to have the CAO and CLA prepare options for a November ballot measure to fund Los Angeles Fire Department facilities and, potentially, operations, after public testimony from union representatives and a staff presentation on the process.
The Rules Committee of the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) to return with a menu of funding options for a proposed ballot measure to address Los Angeles Fire Department facilities and operational needs.
The direction asks staff to identify priority stations and other capital projects, estimate capital and operational needs, and present options that could include general obligation bonds, parcel or sales taxes, or other measures that could fund staffing and ongoing operations. CAO municipal facilities lead Yolanda Chavez said staff would convene a working group including the fire department, the city attorney and the Bureau of Engineering to develop priorities and cost estimates, then report back with ballot recommendations.
The committee took up the item after public comments from firefighters who urged swift action. "We need a fire department that is almost twice the size that it is today," said Chung Ho, director at United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 and a captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department. Chung Ho read findings of a standards-of-cover report that estimated the department needs 62 new stations and about 700 additional firefighters.
United Firefighters president Freddie Escobar told the committee the department is "underfunded and understaffed" and urged support for a ballot measure whether through the council or signatures gathered directly. "Years of neglect and lack of significant investment in our fire department has gotten us to the breaking point," Escobar said.
Chavez told members that the CAO would present capital priorities and, separately, options for measures that could pay for operations — because general obligation bonds typically can only be used for capital and acquisition. "We would look at the capital needs and then, of course, the operational needs and come to you with options on the type of measures that fund operations and capital," Chavez said.
Committee members asked staff to include analysis of staffing costs tied to any new stations, to consider voter thresholds for different measure types, and to present options informed by political feasibility and polling. Council member Yaroslavsky requested that the report include recommendations comparing bonds with alternative measures, including fees and taxes, and asked that political consultants or polling be considered to advise measure design.
The CAO noted the city has drafted similar reports in the past and that outside groups and labor often take the lead on polling once a recommendation is set. The committee also asked staff to include potential efficiency gains from modernization and to add zoo facilities to the scope of prioritized city facilities for the report.
The two agenda items covering the matter (items 6 and 23) were approved as amended on a roll call vote: Harris Dawson, Raman, Yaroslavsky and Soto Martinez voted yes; Councilmember Lee was absent. The committee instructed staff to have recommendations ready in time to place a measure on the November ballot if the council so decides.
Next steps: the CAO and CLA will return with the compiled options and cost estimates for capital and operations, voter-threshold analysis and suggested ballot language options for committee review.
