Peak safety services clipped

Millions of visitors flood Huntington Beach every summer, but with recent budget cuts, a portion of the beach will go unguarded and emergency response times may increase this summer.

Marine Safety Chief Kyle Lindo, Fire Chief Patrick McIntosh and Police Chief Ken Small laid out the cuts their respective departments had to make after the latest rounds of budget cuts at a City Council study session earlier in the month.

“We all know there’s a budget problem ... but for this summer, I think we’ve made good decisions based on the budget monies we have, and I think we will get through this summer with the planning we have done,” Small said.

The city had to fill a $4-million revenue shortfall by asking departments to chop their budgets. Departments axed about $3.4 million, and union concessions saved the city another $1.4 million to fill the gap for this year. The city has cut $20 million over the last 18 months, but officials are predicting another $3 million will need to be slashed next year, said City Administrator Fred Wilson.

Beachgoers will have to watch where they swim now that lifeguards will no longer be stationed at two towers between Goldenwest Street and Seapoint Avenue. The lifeguards will be replaced by signs warning visitors of the dangers of swimming in the ocean.

The Marine Safety division also lost training opportunities and eliminated skill assessment for returning lifeguards to slash $64,962 from its budget.

The cuts will have a “minimal” effect on the public, and the high-volume areas of the beach will maintain service levels and not be impacted, Lindo said.

“There will be service, but it will be more reactive than proactive,” he said.

The reductions in Marine Safety could increase the service load to the Police and Fire departments, Lindo said.

Minor injuries like stingray attacks used to be treated by lifeguards, but now injured swimmers will have to call 911.

The additional workload comes when police and fire are also facing their own reductions and trying to maintain levels of service.

The Fire Department is looking at being unable to run the summer ambulance it uses to deal with the additional calls during peak months.

The department had to reduce a number of staffing positions and reduce personnel training to cut $1.8 million, leaving it focusing on providing essential services, McIntosh said.

The summer ambulance is an additional engine the department uses June to September to handle the heavy call load, but with staff reductions, it probably won’t be put into service this year, he said.

“We will likely have a delay in transport and patient care during summer months,” McIntosh said.

The Police Department reassigned specialized officers to focus on its core function — uniformed police officers responding to service calls, Small said.

The department lost its credit card fraud and elder abuse detectives, and two of its helicopter air support officers have been reassigned.

“We do not view the air support unit as one of our core functions, but they are critically important to our department,” Small said.

Another $3 million will need to be cut for next year.

Staff has proposed an additional $570,000 cut to the Fire Department and more than $1 million for police.

With more cuts looming in the future, Councilman Gil Coerper said he has a “big problem” cutting back public safety during the summer.

“We have a responsibility, the City Council, to maintain public safety in the community,” he said.

To maintain public safety levels, the city is going to have to find a way to increase its revenues, Councilman Joe Carchio said.

“Whatever that takes to do, we need to do,” he said.

Until revenues increase, Councilman Don Hansen said the city has no “wiggle room” and will have to start making tough decisions.

“These are tough times not just to run the business, but to make the decisions,” he said