The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to place a “911 tax” measure to raise funds for the Los Angeles County Fire Department on the upcoming March ballot, officials said.

If approved by voters, the 6-cent parcel tax measure would allow the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) to hire more paramedics and firefighters, update lifesaving equipment and meet the challenges presented by more frequent wildfires and rising 911 calls, according to officials.

“Today’s fast-moving, explosive wildfires and the rising numbers of 911 calls are really putting a strain on the hardworking men and women who are our local firefighter/paramedics,” said LACoFD Chief Daryl Osby. “There’s a human impact on them as we stretch to ensure the safety of our neighbors and community. We desperately need more resources to meet today’s demands. I’m grateful to the board for placing this much-needed ballot measure before our voters.”

Osby said calls for emergency medical assistance in L.A. County have jumped by more than 50 percent since 2008, while the number of paramedic units has increased by only 5 percent in the same time period.

The department is primarily funded through property taxes, contracts for service and fees rather than the county’s general fund, which has reportedly prevented the county board from offering immediate relief, according to officials.

The strain of running an understaffed, undersupported department has taken its toll on more than the equipment, but also upon the mental health of the firefighters themselves, according to Osby.

“I’ve lost track of the number of funerals I’ve spoken at,” Osby said, guessing it had been more than 50.

Osby mentioned seven suicides in the department that he knew of, and the International Association of Firefighters Local 1014 President Dave Gillotte told the county board that more firefighters have lost their lives to suicide than in fires in recent years.

Some of the equipment the department is aiming to update includes the LACoFD’s 911 software — largely unchanged since the 1980s — which is often incompatible with newer wireless and digital systems used by hospitals and emergency rooms and uses outdated tools for mapping cell phone calls, according to county documents.

Some of the department’s fire engines and rescue vehicles are upwards of 20 years old and frequently break down, leaving firefighters and paramedics forced to devise short-term solutions or go out of service, officials said.

Osby said that hiring more employees would also help the department address a recent strain on its payroll, which has seen a 40 percent increase in overtime spending in the last eight years, according to the California State Controller’s office.

“When you call 911, you know help is coming. For us, this is our 911,” said LACoFD Paramedic Erin Regan. “We are asking you for this measure because our firefighters and paramedics in the field need more resources”

Photo courtesy of LACoFD

County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn co-authored the motion to put the 6 cents-per-square-foot parcel tax on the March 3, 2020 ballot, pointing to a May 2018 assessment showing that the fire department is underfunded and under-resourced.

“With an extended fire season and a substantial increase in calls for emergency medical services, voters will have the opportunity to help the fire department address its structural deficit to ensure our first responders are fully equipped to continue providing the highest quality public safety services,” said Barger.

The parcel tax, which requires approval from two-thirds of voters and would exempt low-income seniors, is estimated to raise around $134 million in funds annually. The tax rate would increase by up to 2 percent annually and would remain in place permanently unless revoked by voters, according to county documents.

The parcel tax is calculated by the size of the structure, not the overall property. The average size of a single-family home in Los Angeles is about 1,700 square feet, which equates to about $102 for each homeowner, according to county officials.

Properties that would be exempt from the parcel tax include government-owned parcels, nonprofits and low-income seniors.

The board’s vote was 4-0, with Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas absent to attend a state Assembly Select Committee meeting on homelessness in skid row.

Barger seemed to anticipate some push-back on the tax proposal.

“For any critics that say this has been done in the dead of night, I beg to differ,” Barger said, before encouraging Los Angeles voters to, “Vote your conscience, vote your heart.”For the full language of the measure, click here.

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