There is a huge fight looming over Seal Beach right now that most people are unaware of.
It goes by the innocuous-sounding name of “AB 1217” but its implications are far reaching for Seal Beach and 22 other “partner cities.”
At issue is firefighting, and specifically the Orange County Fire Authority.
Also at issue is money: Seal Beach’s contract with the Fire Authority is just under $5 million a year.
Seal Beach dissolved its private Fire Department in 1986 and contracted with the county, known then as the Orange County Fire Department. Under a Joint Powers Agreement, the Orange County Fire Authority was formed in 1995, just months after the county declared bankruptcy.
All 23 cities served by the Fire Authority have one vote on its board and the county has two votes, representing the unincorporated areas.
The 25-member board votes equally; Seal Beach’s vote is equal to that of larger cities.
Assembly Bill 1217 will slice the number of board members on the Fire Authority Board to 13; three Orange County Supervisors and two representatives from each of the five supervisorial districts.
Seal Beach Mayor Ellery Deaton—an alternate on the board when Councilman David Sloan is unavailable—says the restructuring of the board via AB 1217 is a bad idea.
“If we are going to pay $5 million to the Fire Authority then I want a vote,” Deaton said. “They want to take our vote away.”
Adding to the problem is the fact that Seal Beach’s contract with the Fire Authority runs until 2020 and has a provision that a city has to give two years notice to leave the Fire Authority.
AB 1217 has passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate. Authored by California Assemblyman Tom Daly (D-Anaheim), proponents of the bill say a slimmed-down board will be more effective for the operation.
But Deaton and others say they will lose control without a vote on the board.
Meanwhile, AB 1217 has been amended, and changes almost daily as it winds its way through various committees in the state Senate. If it should pass—leaving Seal Beach and most other cities without a direct vote—there may be options to remaining with the Fire Authority.
One option for Seal Beach may be to partner with nearby Huntington Beach or other nearby cities for fire protection.
Cities in South Orange County say they will form their own fire department if AB1217 passes.
In fact, only one city now a part of the Fire Authority agrees with the bill and that is Santa Ana.
Both the California League of Cities and the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities oppose the bill.
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