The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, February 10, 2011 in the Letters section on page 6. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit.
Proposal for City Fire Dept to County
The county fire department transfer proposal requires that the city of El Segundo pay off all accrued vacation and sick leave of the city fire personnel before they are transferred to the county.
According to the “Daily Breeze” there were two El Segundo city officials that were paid a combined total of $321,000 in accrued vacation and sick leave during 2009. How much do you think it will cost the city to pay off the accrued time for all members of the fire department?
Last week I stated that in ten years the city would get back run down equipment from the county. I was incorrect: In ten years the city will not get any equipment returned. All city fire vehicles and equipment become the property of the county.
El Segundo must additionally pay for up to 20 days vacation and 12 sick days for each employee transferred to the county. Add in the cost of upgrading the cities fire department equipment to county standards and you begin to wonder where the savings are for our city.
Art Lavalle
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed