In July of 2020, the City of Vernon initiated proceedings to annex into the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County (“CFPD”), which is projected to save the City over $30 million in the next 3 years in fire and EMS costs. The annexation became possible after the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angles (“LA LAFCO”) adopted the CFPD’s Municipal Service Review (“MSR”) and Sphere of Influence (“SOI”) update, prepared by RSG. The MSR reviewed the operational and geographic character of the CFPD and was initiated due to recent consideration by six local government fire departments expressing interest in annexing authority and services to CFPD. The Commission unanimously approved the MSR and amended the CFPD SOI allowing up to six LA County cities to annex, as recommended by RSG. Following the adoption of the MSR, the City of Vernon’s application for annexation was considered and approved by the Commission, leading to the transitioning of its fire services over to the CFPD. The City anticipates a reduction in costs by approximately $30 million over the next three years and over $120 million across the next 10 years.
The CFPD is an independent special district providing fire protection service to 58 cities and all unincorporated areas in the County of Los Angeles, as well as the City of La Habra in Orange County. It is governed by the Board of Supervisors and funded by a combination of property taxes, fees for service, and other revenues. In total, the CFPD employs a total of approximately 4,700 full-time employees across all its operations and administrative services.
In conducting our review, RSG evaluated the variety of services carried out by the CFPD, including costs and funding structure, response times and standards, opportunity for shared facilities, station location, and service level delivery. In addition, RSG evaluated other large fire agencies throughout the state including the LA City Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority, and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District to gain insight in comparison to the overall operation of the CFPD.