Voters Reject Merger With County Fire Services
MONTEREY PARK — Voters by a 2-1 margin have rejected a measure championed by the firefighters union to allow the Los Angeles County fire agency to take over the 81-year-old city Fire Department.
In a special election Tuesday, only 32.2% of voters supported Measure I, which called for eliminating the municipal Fire Department.
Under the measure, the Monterey Park Fire Department and its employees would have been absorbed into the Los Angeles County Fire Protection District, which serves more than 50 cities.
“The message here is not ‘We hate the county,’ but ‘We love our own Fire Department,’ ” said Stan Yonemoto, chairman of the No to County Fire committee. “Local control is what people want.”
The Monterey Park Firefighters Assn. backed the merger, saying that it would save lives thanks to the county’s vast array of specialized resources.
The No to County Fire group touted a city study that contended the switch to county services would cost an extra $2.1 million a year.
More than 27% of the city’s 24,500 voters cast ballots.
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