The City Council and the citizens of Lompoc have clearly stated that public safety is their No. 1 priority. Public safety infrastructure consists of several components: people, communications, facilities, and rolling stock of both police and fire departments.
Enough people adequately trained and compensated are needed to deliver police and fire services. Over the last decade, police staffing authorizations have been reduced from a high of 54 sworn officers to the current 44. These reductions occurred as the city grew, and as the population and crime increased.
While fire department staffing has increased, the loss of $500,000 from their budget to maintain minimum staffing has created challenges. Cutting the fire marshal position hampers the ability of the fire department to prevent fires and assure that building plans are checked in a timely manner.
Acquiring qualified personnel is a challenge in any police or fire department, but when Lompoc pays substantially less than surrounding organizations in the county, it makes it a lot harder. It’s been several years since the police department has been at full authorized strength and staffing from units such as the gang, narcotics, and traffic, which are key to crime prevention, have been transferred to patrol.
Communications: according to a report delivered to the council on Feb. 18 radios, “are not suitable and have outlived their usefulness. The [police department] radios currently in use have outlasted their lifespans (30-plus years). Lompoc has the oldest radios within the county of Santa Barbara.”
In other words, the police department—which also serves the fire department and the utilities services dispatch function after normal working hours—doesn’t have the right tools to perform the communication function.
Facilities: The staff report explains police department facility concerns this way, “The main core of the police station was built in 1958 followed by renovation in 1986 and 1996. The age and condition of the (HVAC) system prevents consideration for repairs or upgrades.” Employees and visitors note a black dust blowing out of the vents; it is inexcusable to ask employees to work in substandard conditions due to the system’s inability to provide heating and proper ventilation.
The fire department also has facility concerns: “A structural assessment dated Jan. 3, 2020, recommended certain structural improvements for Fire Station 1 should be addressed immediately and a plan should be developed for total replacement within five years.”
Station 1 lacks a proper ventilation system for diesel exhaust; this puts firefighters housed in this station at an increased risk for cancer. The upstairs shower cannot be used because it leaks into offices below. It is inexcusable to ask city employees to spend 24 hours in these conditions.
“Fire Station 2 was built as a temporary fire station in 1985. Station 2’s quarters are tight for three personnel, and the apparatus room can barely house two engines. It also needs gender-segregated facilities and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. The three past fire chiefs have made requests to rebuild/relocate Station 2.”
Rolling stock: “The entire [police department] patrol fleet is in dire need of replacement. Current support vehicles are between 6 and 24 years old and require replacement. Some of the vehicles have experienced catastrophic failure and have been removed from service.” The police department requires 18 vehicles 24/7 to serve the city. Four replacements have been in procurement but have not arrived.
Fire department vehicles are in similar condition. “The current ladder truck is 27 years old and, although it has been fairly reliable, the manufacturer is no longer in business and all replacement parts must be custom made. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends any fire apparatus over 25 years old be replaced in order to maintain firefighter safety and to avoid fire ground compromises caused by equipment failure.”
“The two current frontline engines are 12 and 18 years old, with a reserve engine that is 22 years old with over 100,000 miles. On average, a fire engine’s useful life is approximately 20 years. The current frontline wildland engine is 6 years old, and the reserve wildland engine is 28 years old.”
New fire equipment can take up to a year to build and deliver; in order to meet replacement equipment needs, those orders need to be placed this year.
The staff report suggests that it may take more that $20 million to bring public safety facility/vehicle needs up to an acceptable standard; after that a sustained budget to amortize future replacements would need to be established.
This is called strategic thinking, and so far that is a quality that has been lacking in our city’s government for several decades. It’s time for a change of strategy in order to meet the public’s expectation for an adequate public safety program in both police and fire departments.
The city manager said that he and the Management Services director are redesigning the amortization process to align more closely with the realities of financing public safety equipment; this is a positive step, and we’ll have to wait and see how it works out. He didn’t say what they were doing about the facilities.
After the staff confirmed that funds were accumulated to amortize some fire equipment at 10-year intervals and others at 20-year intervals, Councilman Jim Mosby implied that money the council had allocated for equipment was somehow being diverted for other uses. This claim went unanswered.
At the end of this discussion, Mayor Jenelle Osborne sadly pointed out that there was no funding available to address these serious issues. She suggested, however, that this report could be used as a basis to apply for grant funding to help pay for needed facilities and equipment. This may take years to accomplish; the need is now, not tomorrow.
The council then voted unanimously to “accept the report” and moved on to the next subject.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send your thoughts, comments, and opinionated letters to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2020.