IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Hemet has agreed to contract with Riverside County for its fire and paramedic services.
By a 3-2 vote, the city council Tuesday put an end to the city’s 106-year-old fire department, according to a report in The Press-Enterprise.
Council members also agreed, by the same margin, to make its last, best and final contract offer to the Hemet Firefighters Association. The city had to settle that issue before it could make an agreement with the county, the report stated.
About 200 people attended the meeting, which was held at the Hemet Public Library to accommodate a larger-than-normal crowd.
City Manager Wally Hill recommended contracting with the county, saying it would be cheaper over time than keeping the municipal department. His remarks were met with boos, and members of the firefighters association disputed those figures, according to the report.
The county fire department will use all four of Hemet’s fire stations and assume control of all of the city’s firefighting equipment, the report stated.
