“In the example below, the City could hire up to 8 additional Firefighters with the overtime money that is being wasted.”
Dear MB Resident,
You may have heard some talk around town lately about the MB Fire Department and City negotiating a contract renewal.
Firefighters claim they want the City to hire additional personnel because they are burned out from working way too much overtime for the last 3 years but the City has refused to do so.
The City claims on its website that “the City’s proposal [during negotiations] is responsive to the need to reduce overtime.”
It would seem easy to provide each side with what they want by simply hiring more Firefighters. Nonetheless, talks came to a halt last month when the City Manager, Brue Moe, refused to participate in mediation that was requested by the Fire Department as a way to reach a settlement.
It is the responsibility of the 2 City Councilmembers, Suzanne Hadley and Hildy Stern, that are charged with acting as liaisons between the City and the Fire Department to persuade the parties to avoid a legal battle and to reach a settlement through mediation.
A legal battle in court will simply waste a lot of money on legal fees and cause an unnecessary delay while residents go unprotected with an understaffed Fire Department that is clearly a Public Safety issue.
The huge level of overtime pay shown below according to the latest official payroll records available (2020) stands as undeniable evidence of severe understaffing within the Fire Department.
The amounts shown below include 27 Fire Department personnel that were paid overtime in 2020, including the ranks of firefighter/paramedic, fire engineer, captains, and battalion chiefs, and excluding the Fire Chief and Fire Inspectors.
$3,706,349 (62%) Regular Pay
$2,294,525 (38%) Overtime Pay
$6,000,874 Total (does not include other payments and benefits).
This exceptionally high percentage of overtime pay (38%) clearly supports the claim repeated by the Fire Department for 3 years that Firefighters are tired of working 80-hour work weeks but it is unavoidable in order to meet the staffing requirements mandated by law.
The Fire Department claims it has been asking the human resource department that works under the City Manager to hire more personnel for several years in order to avoid such long hours but the City won’t do it and has not provided an explanation.
When residents become aware of the Public Safety hazard created by this situation, I hope residents will voice their opinion in an email sent to Councilmembers to correct this unsafe situation. Mediation between the two parties is the answer.
Firefighters and paramedics are working such long hours, for years on end, that they are highly susceptible to becoming burned out and overly tired. Sure, the money is great, and many City officials blast Firefighters for making so much overtime pay, but these guys are asking for new hires to avoid so much overtime to no avail.
Another measurement of understaffing is the computation of the number of homes protected per firefighter. In Manhattan Beach, each firefighter is responsible for protecting 538 homes, which is 90% higher than Culver City, 67% higher than Newport Beach, and 33% higher than Torrance.
This presents a dangerous situation for residents beyond the remote chance of a fire because 80% of Fire Department calls are medical-related. A delay of a few minutes can be critical in many medical emergencies.
And it looks like our City is going to grow exponentially in population unless City Council fights the State density laws that conflict with our Zoning laws. City Council is also actively searching for land to repurpose so it can grant permits to add over 700 affordable housing units in our already overbuilt beach city. The City recently approved a new Assisted Living facility that will also add more frequent medical calls to MBFD.
During the “Annual State of the City” address in April 2022, City Manager Bruce Moe assured us that our City was solvent and flush with cash, including about $8 million in federal stimulus money, ever-increasing property taxes with lots of high dollar sales, and over 2,100 new building permits announced by the community development director that will further increase City revenue from property taxes.
Therefore, the City has enough money to hire additional Fire Department personnel to bring up our standard of Public Safety, but let’s take a moment to explore how this could be done by drastically reducing overtime pay. In the example below, the City could hire up to 8 additional Firefighters with the overtime money that is being wasted.
Here is the math. The average Regular Pay in 2020 for 27 FD personnel with the ranks shown above was $137,272 ($3,706,349 shown above divided by 27). Let’s assume that lump sum pay, other pay and benefits adds another 50% to the total cost, which brings the cost to $205,908 ($137,272 above + 50%). Based on this average, the $2,294,525 in 2020 overtime would pay the cost of 11 additional Firefighters ($2,294,525 O.T. above divided by $205,908 total cost). Let’s include a 25% “inefficiency factor” for scheduling conflicts and sick time. Based on all this conservative math, the City could still hire 8 additional Firefighters with the overtime paid in 2020 (11 additional Firefighters computed above, less a 25% “inefficiency factor”).
In the not too distant past, MB was a City that Firefighters tried to make their final destination, spending 20 to 30 years here until retirement. However, we LOST 2 Firefighters last year and we have had 6 Fire Chiefs in the last 5 years. These are unprecedented statistics for MB and a clear indication there is a management problem at the top.
Mediation is needed immediately between the City Manager and the MBFD. Contact City Council below and tell them what you think
Retired CPA and MB Resident of 15 years
Plan of Action:
Contact City Council [HERE].
Contact City Manager, Bruce Moe [HERE].
Read City Council Statement [HERE].
Mark Your Calendar to make a public comment at the July 19 City Council meeting at 6:00 pm.
Join the City Council via Zoom [HERE].
Or attend in person. See details below.
Connect with the Fire Department and get a yard sign [HERE].
Email us your letters and comments!! MBStrong2021@gmail.com
Information about running for public office in the November 8, 2022 election:
Citizens who desire to serve our city in an elected position can contact the MB City Clerk’s office at mbvote@manhattanbeach.gov for more information.
OR call (310) 802-5056 Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The nomination period is from July 18, 2022, to August 12, 2022.
Information can be found on the MB city website [HERE].
About MBStrong…
We are MB residents bringing common sense, not politics, to the conversation.