Firefighters Criticize Mayor : Union Accuses Riordan of Cutting Department to Add Police Officers

The 3,000-member Los Angeles firefighters union charged Monday that Mayor Richard Riordan is trying to “decimate” the Fire Department by forcing it to cut operating costs so he can hire more police officers.

Members of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City held a downtown rally Monday before marching to a City Council hearing, where 500 or more firefighters filled the council chambers. On several occasions, the Public Safety Committee hearing was punctuated by roaring applause from the firefighters as speakers voiced support for the department.

The actions capped months of frustration among union members, who charge that Riordan is jeopardizing fire safety to make good on one of his main campaign promises: putting 3,000 more LAPD officers on the streets.

“Basically, the mayor is trying to decimate the Fire Department and fire protection to pay for increases in the Police Department,” union President Capt. Ken Buzzell said before the hearing.

Motioning to the firefighters in the chambers, interim Fire Chief Bill Bamattre told the council committee: “There is a concern by all of us that when you talk public safety, we are not part of that equation. The focus is on the Police Department.”

The mayor’s budget director, Christopher O’Donnell, denied Monday that Riordan is expanding the LAPD at the expense of fire protection.

O’Donnell said the Fire Department’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 1996-97 is $433.6 million--up slightly from its current $427.8 million.

However, the Fire Department was forced to identify 6%--or about $26 million--in savings from its budget as part of an “operations efficiency” that the mayor ordered of all city departments, said interim Fire Chief Bill Bamattre.

To help save $14.7 million, Bamattre has proposed removing one firefighter from each of the department’s truck companies and reassigning the personnel to ambulances. He said that move is necessary because the department does not have the money to pay for about 30 additional firefighters and 21 new ambulances needed to improve response time to a growing number of emergency medical calls.

Seventy-five percent of the 320,000 emergency calls received annually by the Fire Department are for medical emergencies ranging from broken bones to cardiac arrests.

The move is opposed by the firefighters union, which contends that if the city needs more ambulances, it should hire more people--not strip 141 firefighters from the truck companies.

“What we should be doing is hiring a lot more firefighters and paramedics,” Buzzell told the committee, prompting hearty applause from the firefighters.

Although Bamattre said the personnel-transfer plan was his idea, leaders of the union and the chief’s association said that Riordan is the driving force behind the proposal because of his 6% “operations efficiency” savings request.

“The reduction in staff is because of the mayor’s demand, not request, that there be a reduction in staffing,” Buzzell told council members.

O’Donnell denied that accusation.

The controversy has created a difficult situation for Bamattre, who, eight months after being picked to head the department, has yet to be made permanent. Bamattre took over in April after the sudden retirement of Donald O. Manning, who left amid accusations that he allowed racism and sexism to flourish on the 3,100-member force.

Buzzell and others in the department contend that Bamattre has no choice but to do Riordan’s bidding if he wants to become the permanent chief--a charge denied by the mayor’s office.

“The mayor has pretty much told him, here’s the carrot, pal. And if you don’t go our way, you are not going to be the fire chief,” Buzzell said.

“I know the impression is that I’m doing this because I want the position,” Bamattre said. “[But] I’d like to dispel that perception because I’m trying to do what is right.”