By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• Tacoma City Manager Hyun Kim’s proposed 2027-2028 budget would eliminate the Tacoma Police Department’s Community Service Officer program and the Tacoma Fire Department’s HOPE team as part of efforts to close a $40 million shortfall.
• The proposal also includes layoffs that could tentatively affect 35 city employees, a business license fee increase for firms earning over $5 million and a new 10% tax on paid commercial parking.
• Kim presented the plan at the City Council’s Oct. 6 study session; it is not final, and the council is expected to finalize the budget around Nov. 17.
• Council members, including at-large member Kristina Walker, voiced concern about losing alternative response programs; Kim said the city would keep other efforts such as its Homeless Engagement and Alternatives Liaison, or HEAL, team.
• Mayor Anders Ibsen said many calls handled by the HOPE team ended up needing police or fire response anyway.

TACOMA, Wash. — Two of Tacoma’s alternative response programs are at risk of elimination under the city manager’s proposed 2027-2028 budget, according to The News Tribune.

The Tacoma Police Department’s Community Service Officer program sends unarmed officers to non-violent, non-emergency and low-risk calls. The Tacoma Fire Department’s HOPE team dispatches trained staff to 911 calls to support people experiencing behavioral health crises. Their elimination, along with layoffs that could tentatively affect 35 city employees, is among the strategies City Manager Hyun Kim proposed to address a $40 million shortfall in the next two-year budget. “We just can’t afford it – unless we make tradeoffs,” Kim said at the Oct. 6 City Council study session.

The deficit lies within a proposed $696 million general fund, part of an overall $5.3 billion city budget, and is structural, meaning expenses continue to outpace revenues in a way a one-time infusion cannot fix. Kim said the cuts and new revenues in the proposal produce a balanced budget for 2027-2028. Revenue measures include higher business license fees, which would rise from $2,000 to $2,600 for businesses earning between $5 million and $10 million and up to $3,000 for those above $10 million, while fees for businesses earning under $1 million would fall. The fee changes are projected to raise $6.2 million. A new 10% tax on paid commercial parking, which would apply to privately run lots and fund transportation infrastructure outside the general fund, is projected to raise $2.25 million.

Council members acknowledged the difficulty of closing the gap while preserving services, and several raised concerns about the proposed cuts to alternative response. “I have heartache around losing support for alternative response,” Council Member Kristina Walker said. Kim noted that the proposal would not end alternative response altogether, and that groups such as the Homeless Engagement and Alternatives Liaison, or HEAL, team would continue. Mayor Anders Ibsen said the HOPE team was designed partly to reduce the workload for regular law enforcement, but the city found that many of its calls required police and fire response anyway.

If the budget is approved, the city’s forecast of budget gaps of $40 million, $75 million and $106 million over the next three two-year cycles would change to $0, $18 million and $40 million. In April, the city extended a freeze on hiring and promotions, and council members approved a 0.1% public safety sales tax that took effect earlier this year.

The proposal is not final. Council members and city staff will spend the next month discussing it and gathering public feedback, and the council could propose changes before finalizing the budget around Nov. 17.

By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• The union representing Dunmore, Pennsylvania, firefighters, IAFF Local 860, says the department faces a critical staffing shortage that has required Fire Chief Christopher DeNaples to be pulled from administrative duty to work firefighting shifts.
• A July borough fire services study found the current staffing model relies heavily on requiring existing members to work extra hours, costing about $260,000 annually in overtime.
• The department is fully paid, with 14 full-time personnel, including the chief, and 10 part-time personnel who are used on an on-call basis.
• The collective bargaining agreement sets minimum staffing at four personnel on duty.
• Borough Council President Thomas Hallinan said the borough has taken steps to hire more firefighters and will discuss hiring before its Oct. 12 meeting.

DUNMORE, Pa. — The union representing Dunmore firefighters is warning of a critical staffing shortage in the borough’s fire department, saying the fire chief has had to be pulled from administrative duties to work alongside crews, according to the Times-Tribune.

International Association of Fire Fighters Local 860, led by firefighter Todd Flaherty, raised its concerns on social media, urging residents not to accept reduced staffing as the norm. The union’s post cited several instances in which Chief Christopher DeNaples was pulled from administration to work firefighting duty.

A July study of the borough’s fire services, highlighted by the union, found the current staffing model relies heavily on forcing existing members to work extra hours, with overtime costs of about $260,000 a year. The study said borough leadership and department staff have expressed significant concern and frustration with the amount of overtime needed to maintain operations. It also found that although ten part-time personnel are on the roster, the department often struggles to meet minimum staffing, because part-timers work on an on-call basis rather than in regular shifts.

DeNaples said the shortage needs to be fixed quickly. People need to be hired to relieve overtime and keep apparatus fully staffed, he said, to give residents the protection they deserve.

The department is a fully paid operation with 14 full-time personnel, including the chief, one captain and two lieutenants, plus 10 part-time personnel. Its collective bargaining agreement sets minimum staffing at four personnel on duty.

Borough Council President Thomas Hallinan said the borough has taken steps to hire additional firefighters, but that the process takes time because of legally required civil service procedures. The Dunmore Borough Civil Service Commission recently established a new certified list of entry-level firefighter candidates, following a physical fitness exam on July 11, a written exam on July 25 and an oral exam on Aug. 8. Hallinan said the borough must still complete mandatory background checks, and that council will discuss hiring additional fire personnel before its Oct. 12 meeting.

By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• Four Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were injured Oct. 7 when a flash fire erupted while they investigated a reported refrigerant leak at a home in Silver Lake.
• LAFD received a 911 call at about 10:48 a.m. from an air conditioning company servicing an HVAC unit in the home’s basement.
• The incident was upgraded to a structure fire, bringing additional resources to the scene.
• All four firefighters were taken to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment; the department has not disclosed the severity of their injuries.
• The cause of the flash fire is under investigation.

LOS ANGELES — Four Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were injured Wednesday when a flash fire broke out as they investigated a reported refrigerant leak at a home in the Silver Lake neighborhood, according to the department.

The department said in a news release that LAFD received a 911 call at approximately 10:48 a.m. from an air conditioning company servicing an HVAC unit in the basement of the home. The company reported a refrigerant leak, and an engine company was sent to investigate. While firefighters were looking into the reported leak, a flash fire occurred and injured the four firefighters.

The incident was upgraded to a structure fire, drawing additional resources to the scene. All four firefighters were transported to local hospitals for further evaluation and treatment. The department did not report the severity of their injuries.

The cause of the flash fire remains under investigation.

By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD officers, announced Tuesday that it will oppose Measure FD, a permanent half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot.
• The measure was placed on the ballot by United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 and is expected to generate about $345 million a year for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
• The police union plans to spend several million dollars on broadcast and digital ads and mailers; the firefighters union has already spent more than $2 million and will ask members on Oct. 16 to authorize another $3 million.
• Measure FD needs a simple majority to pass and would raise the city’s sales tax rate to 10.75%.
• Until now, the main organized opposition has come from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

LOS ANGELES — The union representing Los Angeles police officers said Tuesday it will campaign against Measure FD, a half-cent sales tax that firefighters placed on the Nov. 3 ballot, setting up a costly contest between two of the city’s most influential unions, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Police Protective League said it plans to spend several million dollars on broadcast and digital advertising and mailers. League President Ricky Mendoza said the union’s objection is to the measure’s permanence, calling it a “forever tax,” and described the issue as one of affordability rather than opposition to firefighters. “We’re 100% for hiring firefighters and prioritizing public safety,” Mendoza said.

Doug Coates, president of the firefighters union, said his organization respects the police union but disagrees with its position, arguing that opposing the measure keeps vulnerable communities at risk. He urged voters to approve it.

The opposition prompted the firefighters union to call a special membership meeting Oct. 16, according to an email obtained by the Times. The union’s executive board will ask members to authorize an additional $3 million for the campaign, on top of the more than $2 million already spent. The email cited internal polling showing majority support for the measure, but said the police union’s opposition requires a strong response.

Measure FD would raise Los Angeles’ sales tax rate to 10.75%. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association estimates it would cost an average of $86 per person, or $345 for a family of four, each year. The Fire Department’s budget is already close to $1 billion, and the tax is expected to bring in an additional $345 million annually. The measure would also require the city to keep funding the department at the average share of the general fund it received over the decade before the measure was placed on the ballot.

The firefighters union says the revenue would allow the department to build at least 30 new fire stations, buy new trucks and add about 1,400 personnel by 2050. The measure passes with a simple majority of votes.

By MES Dispatch Staff

The Briefing

• The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from eight firefighters who sued Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue after being placed on leave for refusing Washington’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds.
• The denial leaves in place a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the agency could not have reasonably accommodated the unvaccinated firefighters without undue hardship.
• The firefighters, who called themselves the “Snohomish Eight,” filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 2022 seeking backpay and unspecified damages.
• Then-Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2021 order required the state’s firefighters, health care workers, state employees and education workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October of that year.
• First Liberty Institute, which represented the firefighters, said it remains committed to pursuing religious-freedom cases despite the setback.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from eight firefighters who sued Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue after they were placed on leave for refusing Washington’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds, according to the Seattle Times.

With the high court declining review, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling remains in effect finding the Snohomish County fire agency was within its rights to deny accommodation requests that would have let the unvaccinated firefighters remain in their roles. Attorneys for the firefighters had petitioned the Supreme Court in April to reverse that decision.

“We are certainly disappointed in the outcome, but we are still going to be here to continue fighting for religious freedom,” said Cliff Martin, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, which represented the firefighters.

Under then-Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine order, the state’s firefighters, health care workers, state employees and education workers were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 2021. Court documents show the Snohomish firefighters were permitted to request accommodations based on sincerely held religious beliefs, but the fire agency said it could not grant the exemptions without imposing an undue hardship, citing the potential health and safety risks of unvaccinated first responders working with vulnerable patients.

The firefighters, who adopted the nickname “Snohomish Eight,” filed suit in 2022 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging the denial of their accommodation requests violated federal and state employment discrimination laws and seeking backpay for their period of unpaid leave along with unspecified damages. A district court ruled in favor of the fire agency, a decision the 9th Circuit appeals panel upheld, finding the department could not have reasonably accommodated the firefighters without undue hardship.