Westminster Rejects Study on Fees for Fire Services

Westminster on Monday became the first city to reject an Orange County Fire Authority study that recommends charging some cities more, while others, like Irvine, would pay less.

The study, which highlights the cost of fire protection and paramedic services for 19 cities and is scheduled to be released today, likely will touch off a fierce debate over its conclusions.

The Westminster City Council voted unanimously to reject the study when it found out the city would have to pay an additional $100,000 under the recommendations of the OCFA Equity Study.

Westminster is one of 19 cities that will decide whether the study’s recommendations should be followed.

“I don’t see any reason for us to adjust the amount we pay based on some strained calculation,” Westminster Councilman Kermit Marsh said.

“This is a business. The largest business in the city is the city and it needs to be run like a business. If the offer they make us isn’t significantly attractive, we should reject it,” he said.

Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Scott Brown said the Westminster vote foreshadows the tortuous road ahead for the authority, as each city reviews the merits of the study over the next several months.

“This underscores that there will be a very difficult challenge for us to overcome because each city is going to have an opinion that will need to be debated in the policy arena,” Brown said.

The study was initiated by Irvine, which pays about $4 million more into the system than it receives in services. Under the study consultant’s recommended plan, Irvine would lower its payments by about $386,000 per year, giving it a balanced contribution in just over 10 years.

Other cities would pay more, such as San Clemente, which would pay about $62,000 more per year, balancing out over almost 11 years.

Under the authority’s bylaws, a payment adjustment must be approved by two-thirds of the board, which includes the 19 cities and two representatives from the county Board of Supervisors. No adjustment can be more than 2% annually.

Even while rejecting the study, the Westminster City Council agreed to work with the Fire Authority to devise other options. At the same time, Westminster is participating in a study by Garden Grove considering breaking off from the Fire Authority and forming an independent, four-member fire agency that would include Buena Park and Stanton.

A recent report on the Garden Grove plan found that it would save the member cities anywhere from $250,000 to $1.2 million each.

But Stanton officials have shown no interest in the Garden Grove plan, which says Stanton is an integral part of the proposed agency because it lies between Garden Grove and Buena Park.