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The city council has voted to do away with the Hemet Fire Department and contract fire and paramedic services with Riverside County, but that plan has drawn the ire of city firefighters and many in the community. Ultimately, city voters may decide the issue.
Who knew a municipal fire department could be so popular?
In September, after about two years of discussion, the Hemet City Council voted to close down the 106-year-old department and contract with Riverside County for its fire and paramedic services.
That 3-2 decision was met with boos from some of the more than 200 people who attended the council meeting, which was held at Hemet Public Library to accommodate the larger-than normal crowd.
Contracting with the county – actually a branch of Cal Fire, a statewide fire and paramedic service – would save the city an estimated $500,000 a year, City Manager Wally Hill said.
At the same time, the council voted 3-2 to impose its final offer on the Hemet Firefighters Association. By law, the city must reach an agreement with its firefighters before it can shift its fire and paramedic services to the county.
The city won a victory in October when Riverside County Superior Court Judge John D. Malloy denied a request by the firefighters union for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the city’s dissolution of its fire department.
Malloy also set a trial date for Jan. 30, leaving enough time to resolve the matter before July 1, when the city’s contract with Riverside County is scheduled to begin.
Less than one month after the council’s decision, supporters of the fire department presented more than 6,000 signatures to the city clerk, requesting that the matter be placed on the local ballot
In the meantime, the Hemet Fire Department continues to provide fire and paramedic service to the city of 79,000 residents in the San Jacinto Valley.
“Probably a lot of people think this issue has been resolved, but it hasn’t,” said Steve Sandefer, president of the firefighters association. “The city wants to sign the contract [with Riverside County] and move on, but it can’t do that until it works things out with the city fire department. The city council, city manager and city attorney all have to come up with an agreement.”
After voting to do away with the city fire department, Hemet officials pushed hard to swing Hemet residents over to the city’s side. They took out a half-page advertisement in The Press-Enterprise that ran on consecutive days, bought advertisements in two other local publications and sent out mailers.
City officials have also offered to do presentations to community groups, during which they would explain the city’s position, while representatives from Riverside County Fire could meet with city residents.
The public relations effort, which was paid for out of the city’s general fund, reportedly cost $20,000. The advertisements and mailers played up the amount of money the shift to Riverside County would save the financially struggling city, but opponents of the move are skeptical, Sandefer said.
“They’re saying the county would do a better job, but a lot of people aren’t buying that,” said Sandefer, a 21-year veteran of the department. “They said it would save money, but some people believe it would cost more money to move to the county. That’s where some of the anger started.”
Much of the dynamic regarding the future of the fire department changed on election days, when Mayor Larry Smith – a supporter of the shift to the county fire department – was defeated.
At the same time K. Paul Raver, a supporter of keeping the fire department who was making his first bid for public office, was elected.
That means that the new council, when it’s sworn in and seated Dec. 9, will have three members who are pledged to keeping the fire department. The council is scheduled to discuss the future of the city’s fire department at that meeting.
“They can let their original decision stand or they agree to put it on the ballot,” Hill said. “No one knows what they’re going to do.”
Sandefer, however, is confident that the new council will throw out the decision to eliminate the fire department.
“I’m 99.9 percent certain that’s going to happen,” Sandefer said.
If that happens, the department will drop its injunction request, eliminating the need for a trial, Sandefer said.
Hemet officials, who have been considering shifting the city’s fire and paramedic services to the county for several years, were not surprised when so many people objected to eliminating the municipal fire department.
“We knew this was going to be a divisive issue,” Hill said “It’s tough to explain the advantages to making the move. It comes down to dollars versus local control, and the amount of money you save depends on what service model you use.”
Ultimately, the issue is likely to be decided by the voters and not the council, Councilwoman Linda Krupa said.
“This issue is so important I think there’s a very good likelihood that will happen,” said Krupa, who cast one of two votes against eliminating the department. “If the new council rescinds the issue then it’s a moot point, but I really think this will end up before the voters, sooner or later.”
Raver left no doubt where he stands on the issue.
“I campaigned on a promise that I would help keep the fire department in place, so I don’t think I have a choice,” Raver said. “What we have to do is get out something in concrete so this doesn’t happen again.”
