About Measure E
The Los Angeles County Fire Department is one of the largest emergency service agencies in the world, providing life-saving services to more than 4.1 million residents and commercial businesses. As the County has grown, we have seen an overwhelming increase in call volume and call complexity. But over the last ten years, we have seen a 50% increase in call volume with only a 5% increase in paramedic squads.
Facing the nation’s second-highest wildfire risk and an explosion in incident calls over the last 20 years, the Los Angeles County Fire Department is underfunded. What does that mean?
-Fire engines are inoperable
-Paramedics are not on every truck
-911 calls from cell phones take longer to dispatch because of this shortfall.
Measure E will improve responses to fires and emergency incidents with firefighters, paramedics, and state-of-the-art equipment that works in emergencies.
Why you should
vote YES for Measure E: The LA County Fire Safety Measure
Fire danger is up. Emergency calls have exploded. Funding has not kept up.
Your local firefighters and paramedics are using decades-old equipment, including fire engines, trucks, and an unreliable, outdated 911 communications system. Measure E will provide the resources they need to keep our communities safe.
What is Measure E?
A YES on Measure E: The LA County Fire Safety Measure would authorize L.A. County Fire to levy a tax of 6 cents/square foot of structural improvements on all taxable improved parcels (including business and residential properties), excluding the square footage of improvements used for parking, limited to 2% annual inflation or CPI adjustment (whichever is less), generating approximately $150 million per year, to hire more firefighters and paramedics, replace and upgrade outdated emergency communications systems and old rescue vehicles and equipment.
Oversight for Funds
Measure E would require all funds to support local fire protection and emergency medical response. Independent citizens’ oversight and annual expenditure reports would be published online and made available at local libraries and neighborhood fire stations. Additionally, since it is a special district, the funds cannot be used for other county departments and cannot be used for unfunded workers’ compensation or pension liabilities.
Understanding the Fire Protection District
Measure E was brought forth as a citizen’s initiative led by our own LA County Firefighters and Paramedics, gathering over 180,000 signatures from voters in the LA County Fire Protection District to place this on the ballot. Measure E would require funds to only be used in support of local fire protection and emergency medical response..
How Measure E Makes You SAFER:
Upgrade and Replace 911 System- Most people upgrade their cell phones every few years to ensure system compatibility. The 911 system used by LA firefighters was built before cell phones were widely used. When you call 911 from a cell phone today, it takes longer to locate you because of outdated 911 technology built when landlines were the only phones people used.
Improve Response Times- When there’s a call, worn-out, broken-down equipment hinders speedy responses. LA County firefighting vehicles are 27 years old on average relying on a decades-old mechanically questionable family car for emergencies.
Better Lifesaving Equipment- Adding, replacing, and maintaining lifesaving rescue tools, including jaws of life and thermal imaging cameras, to rescue people from fires. And the department needs more protective clothing, defibrillators, and emergency supplies to handle the call loads.
More Paramedics- LA County Fire is short-staffed on nearly 2/3 of its calls. When you call 911, finding and responding to you promptly can make the difference between life and death. As firefighters, we call on you to join us in voting
YES on Measure E. Most property owners would pay 30 cents/day to improve response times and modernize the 911 and communications dispatch systems. Vote like your life depends on it. It could.
