Tag: Fullerton Fire Department

Posted onBehind Closed Doors

OCFA’s Bait and Deceive

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Several months back, the Fullerton Firefighters’ Association stormed City Hall and demanded the City Council solicit proposals from the Orange County Fire Authority. Perpetually greedy and feeling entitled to more and more, the union knows OCFA has deeper pockets than Fullerton will ever have.

Details of that proposal are now available:

OCFA_Fullerton

https://www.fullertonsfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OCFA_Fullerton.pdf

True to form, OCFA wasted no time in being the slimy car salesman promising more for less. In the smallest typeface they could possibly use, they say it “Excludes one-time startup costs and City’s Annual UAAL Payment to PERS.”

This means the nearly $5.8 million in “savings” to Fullerton is not real. Fullerton will remain on the hook for millions of dollars in unfunded UAAL pension liability each and every year AFTER the firefighters have left and joined OCFA.

So what did they promise Fullerton?

The conversion of Truck 6 to a paramedic truck, and the conversion of Engine 3 to a Paramedic Truck 3. The latter is somewhat comical because Fullerton doesn’t have a Truck that will fit inside Station 3. Fullerton already tried putting their lone Truck at Station 3 and had to store it outdoors. Whether OCFA would bring in a smaller Truck or force Fullerton to remodel Station 3 is unknown.

These things don’t really matter because OCFA has likely underestimated the true cost to the tune of seven figures. The sad and scary part is the likes of Silva and Zahra on the City Council will probably fall for this proposal hook, line and sinker.

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Posted onTransparency

Adam Loeser, Dishonest Fire Chief

by 33 Comments on Adam Loeser, Dishonest Fire Chief
Loeser

The last time I wrote on this topic, I pointed out that Fullerton/Brea Fire Chief Adam Loeser is a union puppet, using his authority as fire chief to advocate for the interests of the IAFF fire union.

What I didn’t tell you at the time is he flat out lied in his agenda letter to the City Council. The real reason, the more pressing reason, for seeking cancellation of the automatic aid agreement with the City of Placentia is to settle a dispute the union clowns filed with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). In the first agenda letter, he said the City Council should cancel because, “The current Automatic Aid Agreement between Fullerton and Placentia and its corresponding Memorandum of Understanding outline specific deliverables and capabilities. The City of Placentia has not sufficiently met many of these deliverables and capabilities to the satisfaction of the City of Fullerton Fire Department.”

Nowhere in there did he mention the pending litigation before the PERB that forces the City Council to vote on this matter to determine if the matter will proceed to a PERB hearing or not. If the City Council does what Loeser and the fire union want, the union has agreed to drop the matter before the PERB.

An honest public servant would have included this vital information in the initial agenda letter. I’m even told members of the City Council had no idea the PERB dispute existed until a couple weeks ago, even though it was first filed over a year ago.

Don’t take my word for it, compare his agenda letters. The first is the September 21, 2021 letter and the second is the October 5, 2021. (Note: the matter was continued from the September meeting, so this concerns the exact same issue)

October 5, 2021 version:

To add insult to injury, Adam Loeser put this item on the Consent Calendar where it can be rammed through without discussion – unless the public, or a member of the City Council, requests it to be “pulled” for discussion. The Consent Calendar is used for routine matters that don’t warrant discussion, such as approving the minutes from the prior meeting. This is not a routine matter, automatic/mutual aid agreements are amended or cancelled like this maybe once every 30 or 40 years.

Loeser, in his usual arrogant form, first lies to the public. The second time around — after he was told to fix the agenda letter, by you know, telling the truth — put it on the consent calendar in hopes he won’t have to explain himself.

These types of self-serving public servants are the worst of the worst.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Fullerton about to lose a Fire Engine

by 58 Comments on Fullerton about to lose a Fire Engine

The City is in the process of approving a new labor contract with the Fullerton Firefighter’s Association.  Buried deep in the agreement on page 52 is this nugget — the City will be going from six (6) engines to five (5) engines.  We’ve had six fire engines in Fullerton for many, many years.

At no time has the City come forward with any candor to admit to this change, except when I brought it up during the previous City Council meeting.  Even then, none of our council members seem to care very much.

This change may well result in every property owner in the City paying higher property (fire) insurance rates. One of the factors that insurance companies use to determine rates is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) score calculated for every fire district around the country.

The ISO score takes into consideration many factors, including the strength of the fire department and the City’s water supply.   More specifically, the fire department score includes calculations for the number of engine and truck companies, their locations around the City, and the number of firefighters on duty.  The fire union agreement, set for final approval on Tuesday, reduces the level of staffing by 1 position per rotating shift, which will further reduce our score.

Fullerton scored 76.71 points out of a possible 100 the last time ISO evaluated the City of Fullerton in 2012.  This equates to an ISO PPC “class” of 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being best).

You can read the full report here.  As much as the City wants to rubber stamp the agreement and forget all about it, this is very much a matter of public policy that warrants further discussion.  We will likely pay more for homeowner’s insurance due to the City having one less fire engine in service.

Do we, as a City, want to:

  • Pay more in homeowner’s insurance premiums in return for less fire department staffing and resources?
    -or-
  • Pay more in taxes to maintain the current level of fire department staffing, and, hopefully, preserve lower insurance premiums?
    -or-
  • Pay the same amount in taxes, for the same, or even improved levels of fire department staffing, by forcing the firefighters to contribute more toward their pensions?

This is a choice that needs to be made now before going any further.  I suggest attending Tuesday’s meeting prepared to speak, and/or send your thoughts to council@cityoffullerton.com.

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Posted onChronic Failure

Lemmon Head

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Wouldn’t it be nice if every City employee consistently set the bar for professionalism?

Michael Lemmon, of the Fullerton Fire Department, thought it was perfectly okay to purchase these inappropriate mugs using taxpayer money on his City-issued VISA card.

A couple months later, Michael Lemmon decided the Fire Department needed more coffee mugs, so he purchased these — again on the taxpayer’s dime:

 

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Pay The Lady: Nepotism At Its Worst

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Today’s ethical lapse comes to us courtesy of the Fullerton Fire Department.  See those shirts pictured above?  Fire Captain Brian Seymour ordered nine of them for some kind of “Peer Support”.

Once the use tax is factored in, we paid about $40 per shirt.

Check out the reconciliation report.  One can clearly see the purchaser was Brian Seymour.

Below, we see the invoice from the vendor, Linksoul, where the salesperson was Mary Seymour.  Wait a minute, that must be a coincidence.  No City employee would be foolish enough to use taxpayer money to purchase unnecessary clothing from a relative’s clothing business, right?

 

Mary Seymour is the Fire Captain’s wife.  Linksoul is a clothing company started by her brother.  A couple minutes with Google was enough to locate this article from Carlsbad Magazine with a quote about nepotism that couldn’t be more ironic under the circumstances.

Hinman, W. (2014, March & April). The Man Makes The Clothes. Carlsbad Magazine, 38-43.

So while the City of Fullerton prepares to be crushed under the weight of CalPERS pension obligations, we have people like Brian Seymour not just wasting our money — he’s sending cash to his wife’s family business.

Brian Seymour made $294,761 last year in pay and benefits.  Why didn’t he pay for these shirts with his own money?

Did anyone make him reimburse the City?   Whose idea were these shirts, anyway?  Perhaps most important is why didn’t it occur to Brian Seymour that sending money to the family business was improper, and likely a violation of City policy and/or State Law?

Thanks to a certain FFD employee for bringing this to our attention.  You know who you are.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Bad Neighbor!

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Would you give neighbors access to your bank account?

No? That would probably come as a shock to some at City Hall where (at least) three City of Brea employees have been issued VISA procurement cards belonging to the City of Fullerton.

Fullerton and Brea have a shared Fire Department command staff.  The Fire Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Division Chiefs, Battalion Chiefs, and an EMS manager perform services for both cities, even though they remain employees of the City where they came from.  Those from Brea have been given the Fullerton VISA cards.  Now, I can hear some people uttering phrases like “so what,” and “who cares,” and “what’s the problem?”  I can help you with that.

Fullerton Fire Station 3 on Acacia Ave was the recipient of five La-Z-Boy recliners, on the City VISA card.  The purchaser?  Chris Guerrero, a Brea employee.  The supervisor approving the purchase?  Kathy Schaefer, another Brea employee.  And where did the money come from?  Fullerton.

The receipt raises another question because Engine 3, based at this fire station, only has a crew of three.  So why purchase five recliners?

I’d bet money the extra recliners are for the CARE Ambulance employees based at Station 3.  Nothing in the housing agreement between the City and CARE Ambulance talks about furnishings, so the recliners appear to be a gift.

A gift from Brea employees using Fullerton’s money.

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Posted onAbout Us

JPA Business Plan: Prey on sick and dying people

by 4 Comments on JPA Business Plan: Prey on sick and dying people

Just watch the video.

“The ambulances will have to wait their turn.”   Did you catch that last part?

Just the opposite will happen if the ambulance component of this JPA proposal goes forward. The ambulances will be going straight for your wallet, and more than ever before.

Yesterday, I talked about the JPA Feasibility Study authored by Citygate Associates LLC that showed little, if any, reason to merge the Fullerton and Brea Fire departments. A separate study on ambulance service was sought from a company named A. P. Triton, LLC.

The ambulance study makes its bias against private ambulance companies known from the very start. They denigrate private companies for making a profit, then propose ways for the JPA to do exactly the same, with rates far beyond what is being charged now.

The consultant spends considerable time salivating over revenue collection potential.

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Posted onFullerton City Council

Blowing up the Fire Department

by 23 Comments on Blowing up the Fire Department

Casual readers of this blog may want to pay closer attention than usual.

Except this time, it’s the consultants wearing the turnouts.

 

This coming Tuesday, January 24, the Fullerton City Council will entertain a study session to review the merits of folding the Brea and Fullerton Fire Departments into one. If approved, the Fullerton Fire Department, and it’s 108-year history as we know it, would cease to exist.

Thanks to a 3-2 vote (YES: Fitzgerald, Flory, Chaffee. NO: Whitaker, Sebourn) a new government agency was formed with the City of Brea on October 18, 2016. The North Orange County Cities Joint Powers Authority is its name.

A merged Fullerton and Brea Fire Department would no longer be under the direct control of either the Fullerton or Brea City Councils. Instead, it would be governed by this new JPA — whose board members will be unelected. That is a board which is directly accountable to nobody. Two City Council members from each city, appointed by their respective City Councils, will govern the JPA. That’s not a typo — it really is two members from each city — meaning there is no tiebreaker vote.

The study session follows on the heels of a recent JPA Feasibility Study whereby the case to merge fire departments is rather weak.

We already utilize a shared fire command with the City of Brea. Fullerton’s projected costs under that existing arrangement are shown below, in blue. Fullerton’s projected costs under the JPA are shown in yellow.

The consultant, Citygate Associates LLC, says not to worry about the $300-400K annual cost increases under a JPA as those are within “model variance”.  (Note:  The above figures are in thousands)

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