After Police, Compton May Disband Fire Department

Some might call it the incredible shrinking government.

Days before they shut down their city’s police force, Compton officials are quietly exploring the idea of dumping their Fire Department as well and contracting out its responsibilities to Los Angeles County.

Mayor Omar Bradley is discussing turning over the water department to a private company. And some officials and public employee unions say the city is considering selling some of its parkland for development.

“The tone in city government is of a sale or a liquidation--and it makes me nervous,� said City Councilwoman Marcine Shaw. “I have the feeling that things are starting to happen fast.�

Richard Silber, a lawyer for one of the city employee unions, was even more alarmed.

“Maybe they’ll dismantle the whole city,� he said.

A city spokesman said Wednesday that Bradley would have no comment. But in recent months, the mayor has said that by contracting out city services, Compton can improve efficiency, save money and cut taxes.

In an interview last month, Bradley, who is supported by a majority of the City Council, bitterly criticized longtime city employees for resisting his efforts to fix the government and said that contracting out some of their jobs might be one way to speed change.

“Everyone knows that Compton has been run horribly for 45 years, and that our employees are resisting us when we try new ways of doing things,� Bradley said. “And when it comes to city services, I’m somewhat Republican in my approach to saving money.’

But Bradley’s critics contend that his motives are more personal. By eliminating city workers who are protected by unions and Civil Service rules, Bradley and his allies can reduce the number of people who challenge his policies, the critics say. The unions have brought several lawsuits against Bradley and the city on a variety of civil rights and governance issues.

The mayor has tangled with top fire and police officials for years. In a notorious 1997 incident, Bradley stormed shirtless into a Compton fire station and berated officials there for rejecting a check he wrote for his son’s tuition to the fire academy. According to one witness’ written account of the incident, the mayor said it was “his fire station, his fire academy, and any time he wanted to he could shut it down and that he would.�

Fred Cressel, a former city councilman who operates a stationery store, said that dissolving departments and signing outside contracts “give the mayor more control, because there are fewer employees to deal with.�

“With just about any department, if they could find a way to contract it out, they would,� he said.

To be sure, Compton, population 100,000, is not the first city to outsource a major department. Forty of the county’s cities already rely on the county Sheriff’s Department for police services, and 54 municipalities are served by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. In the months ahead, three of Compton’s neighbors--Lynwood, Gardena and Inglewood--are scheduled to replace their fire departments with the county’s.

But Compton’s status as one of the county’s larger cities, and the speed with which its government appears to be pursuing outside contracts, makes it stand out.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District, which includes Compton, said Wednesday afternoon that he was not aware of any cities that had sold their water departments recently.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Edward Rogner said the “last large decent-sized city� to contract with his agency was Lynwood--in 1976.

Although the county welcomes Compton’s interest, the city’s urgency has been breathtaking.

The county Fire Department, busy with adding services in other cities, has had to put off Compton officials who are eager to begin planning for a switch-over. The department won’t be able to begin a feasibility study in Compton until next year, said Barbara Herrera, a planner for the department.

“Compton has been asking for some time now,� she said. “We will move forward as fast as we can.�

Compton officials say that any action on the water department is also months off. Meanwhile, Shaw said she and her council colleagues have discussed turning park land over to developers for new housing.

Whenever the city does move, it will probably face stern opposition from the same group of block clubs, pastors, Latino businessmen and disgruntled city workers who have so fiercely fought the police shutdown.

Father Stan Bosch, a priest who has been organizing clergy and local Latinos, said “the issue goes beyond contracts to the accountability of the City Council and the mayor.�

“So much is happening without citizens knowing or understanding it,� he said. “If the Fire Department is contracted out, we’ll keep organized and demand that the people have a voice and a vote.�

Even city employees who oppose the mayor concede that the demise of the Fire Department is likely. The firefighters union has long urged the city to turn the department over to the county for management. Fire officials say that the city doesn’t have the cash--or the inclination--to properly equip the department.

Firefighters have long complained of having to buy their own office stationery. This summer, there was a series of breakdowns of the departments reserve equipment. In a sign of the agency’s desperation, acting Fire Chief Frank Sotelo wrote to the mayor and City Council of Lynwood on Aug. 24 to ask for “any surplus fire vehicles and firefighting equipment� they might provide “at a token amount or lease rate.� Lynwood Mayor Louis Byrd said his city is still studying the request.

Fire Chief Milford Fonza, who opposes a transfer to the county and is out of work on disability, said the city could find the money to improve its equipment.

“But given the current administration, I think [the transfer is] likely to happen,� said Fonza, who also is president of a union of city managers. “In Compton, I think everything’s on the table.�