“Deferred maintenance” is a term used to define things that need to be done but will have to wait until we can afford it.
In government it usually means that they have the funds to fix the roof, but the politicians guiding the use of tax money would rather defer fixing the roof and use those funds for their favorite social equity project. Then when the roof collapses, it’s an emergency and they can ask taxpayers for a new building.
In Lompoc, it is the Fire Department that’s suffering because of deferred maintenance.
But what do you do when the issue staring you in the face is people and not brick-and-mortar? In Lompoc’s case it’s both!
Each time politicians employ the “deferred maintenance” philosophy when dealing with public safety issues, it creates a serious concern to the taxpaying public who rely on prompt and professional response when a fire or medical emergency occurs.
The city of Lompoc has what shrill, sign-waving activists would call a ‘crisis situation’ concerning fire protection in our city, but since it’s not a popular social justice cause, the City Council may never address it.
In 2007, the city engaged the services of Robert Olson and Associates to prepare a study titled “Fire Protection Services for the City of Lompoc: Planning for the Future.” They found that “for a variety of reasons, department facilities are inadequate in their current state and configuration.”
On Nov. 12, 2013, the Lompoc City Council adopted the Fire Department Master Plan, which clearly stated that “levels of service and resource allocation decisions are the responsibility of the community’s elected officials, in this case the City Council. The council must carefully balance the needs and expectations of its citizenry when deciding how much money to allocate to all of the services it provides.”
Implementing the Fire Department Master Plan to bring the level of service up to nationally recognized standards has been spotty.
Fire Department response standards are reflected in the 2030 General Plan, Public Services Element, Policy 3.1, which states, “The first Fire Department response units capable of initiating effective incident intervention shall arrive at a priority emergency within six minutes 20 seconds from receipt of the call at the dispatch center, 90 percent of the time.”
An analysis using GIS technology conducted by the Fire Department clearly indicated that it can’t meet this standard in the northern and western areas primarily due to the location of Fire Station 52. This station was constructed in 1988 as a “temporary” location. The City Council has avoided confronting this issue and rejected a relocation plan several years ago.
Shortly after the 2013 presentation, city voters approved a “public safety tax” in part to address Fire Department issues. A shortsighted City Council then diverted the new funding to help reduce the impact of CalPERS retirement fund contributions.
In another misguided decision, the council has encouraged and approved additional development outside the practical ability of the Fire Department to respond within nationally established timelines and conflict with the General Plan policy. And they continue to defer addressing this issue in any tangible way, seemingly hoping that “nothing will happen.”
On May 5 of this year, Interim Fire Chief Kevin Shay reported that the three fire units and nine crew on-duty members responded to more than 5,300 calls for service each year; that’s an average of 14 calls per day. As the city grows, this number increases each year, while staffing remains the same.
A high turnover of experienced firefighters leads to losing tenured employees, lowers employee satisfaction, and leads to a feeling that the City Council doesn’t care about the employees. This continued cycle leads to burnout and a lack of appreciation, further lowering morale and increasing turnover, and the cycle continues.
The city of Lompoc has what shrill, sign-waving activists would call a “crisis situation” concerning fire protection in our city, but since it’s not a popular social justice cause, the City Council may never address it.
When we call 911, the Fire Department always comes to help. The Fire Department has been “calling 911” for more than a decade with their pleas for help, and no one has answered the phone.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in August 6 – August 13, 2026.
