Calexico faces more fire department layoffs
Our council remains strong in supporting our program and levels of service. We are asking for federal, state and county assistance to share the financial burden of this problem.” Maritza Hurtado, mayor
C hasALEXICO — A pair of public meetings scheduled for this week could help clarify the fate of the city of Calexico’s ambulance program, which been operating annually at a $500,000 deficit and is currently in search of additional funds to help keep it afloat.
In the meantime, city and Calexico Fire Department (CFD) officials are busy contemplating possible options in the event funding for the ambulance program is not immediately forthcoming.
An indication of what action the city may soon take was revealed in a letter it sent to the Calexico Firefighters Association (CFA) on Thursday, proposing the layoff of an undisclosed number of firefighters as well as the closure of the department’s station No. 2.
The city’s letter to CFA came a day after the Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District (HMHD) had met Wednesday, where a split board rejected a contract agreement with the city that would have provided up to $700,000 in district funds to help keep the ambulance program in operation.
The district’s vote was an obvious setback for both city and CFD officials, who were hoping the funds’ approval would have staved off any possible reduction in fire and emergency services and personnel layoffs.
“We obviously have to start thinking about what our plan B is,” said fire Chief Diego Favila following Wednesday’s HMHD meeting. “They’ll be thoughts and discussions and we’ll see what it comes down to.”
Fire Department and city officials had previously expressed hope that HMHD would have authorized the $700,000 in financial assistance in advance of a City Council meeting Wednesday, where the city’s financial consultant is expected to present a six-month budget review.
Currently, the city is operating at a $3.2 million deficit, and its financial consultant is expected Wednesday to make cost-saving recommendations that could place the city back on sound financial footing.
Although the city is planning to quickly implement any such recommendations, it has not completely ruled out the possibility of the Heffernan district eventually approving a contract agreement that provides financial assistance, said interim City Manager David Dale.
“There is some room for us to negotiate that contract,” Dale said following Wednesday’s HMHD meeting.
During Wednesday’s regular meeting, HMHD members Rodolfo Valdez and Norma Apodaca cast the five-member board’s two votes in favor of the proposed contract agreement with the city.
The pair was outvoted by district board members Gloria Romo, Hector Martinez and Sylvia Bernal, who indicated any potential approval of the proposed contract agreement would have to await the outcome of a county Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) meeting Thursday, where LAFCO will discuss HMHD’s probationary status and expenditures.
The Heffernan district was placed on a five-year probation by LAFCO in 2015 due to the questionable use of its funds.
Although Bernal hinted Wednesday that she was inclined to provide financial support to the city’s ambulance program, she also wanted to ensure stakeholders exhausted all of their funding options, including county, state and federal grants. In the absence of any immediate agreement with the Heffernan district, the Calexico Fire Department appears at risk of personnel layoffs and the closure of its station on the city’s west side by Feb. 27, according to the city’s letter to the firefighters’ union.
The letter also indicated the city would be forced to implement its proposed actions, as well as seek alternative cost-effective methods to provide emergency fire and ambulance services, should the CFA fail to agree to about $700,000 in concessions before Monday.
“We have requested your association to assist us to close this gap to meet the city’s financial deficit and shortage of funds, however, no viable resolution to the concessions requested has been reached,” the letter stated.
A request for comment from the CFA president was not returned by press time.
Following news of Heffernan’s reluctance last week to approve the proposed contract agreement, Mayor Maritza Hurtado took to Facebook to calm any community concerns and highlight the city’s efforts to seek additional funds that would offset costs related to Mexicali residents’ tendency to not pay for Calexico’s ambulance services.
“Our council remains strong in supporting our program and levels of service,” Hurtado said. “We are asking for federal, state and county assistance to share the financial burden of this problem.”