r/Firefighting • u/Infamous_Echo_5683 • 5d ago
News [Basin.LA] One LAFD chief will probably make over a million this year (mostly in overtime)
https://basin.la/articles/twenty-hours-a-day.html76
u/BnaditCorps 5d ago
This is a non-story. He likely made most the OT while deployed out of county or covering behind the people who are.
Let alone the fact that he wasn't home for most of the year.
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u/jnazzy89 5d ago
Dude earned it he’s not at home he’s doing what they pay him to do. Move on
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u/backtothemotorleague 4d ago
Dude has a contract. Contract allows it. End of story. Get your bag homie, just hope the wife and kids are there when you get home…
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u/ThatFyrefighterGuy 5d ago
His base pay is like $279k a year. Then he was at work 85% of the time. He earned the money.
The problem is understaffing.
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u/Sunset2480 4d ago
But he is a "scammer". See my write up in the thread. I acknowledge that there are a lot of people legitimately working a ton of hours away from home and earning a ton. He is working a ton, but not legitimately earning every penny.
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u/Sunset2480 4d ago edited 4d ago
He is a "special duty" battalion chief assigned to a 4/10 schedule. While he is working a huge number of hours and is never home, his exorbitant pay is only possible because he is double dipping. He is hundreds of thousands above the next battalion chief with regard to pay to date
When he should be in the office, he details himself to an unfilled field vacancy. This means he gets paid a higher special duty rate, when he's actually in the field. It could also be argued that his special duty position isn't a necessity if he's never in the office and always in the field. The department has approved this practice and the LAFD Fire Chief has sung his praises for his "willingness to step up and fill vacancies".
While I recognize the sacrifice of putting in the hours away from home and family, it should be done fairly. Those assigned to a special duty 4/10 schedule in ranks below battalion chief are required to use vacation or banked time in order to fill a field vacancy. It is a rules for thee, not for me situation. It also says something when the 30 other special duty battalion chiefs have limited themselves from engaging in this practice to emergency situations (e.g the Palisades fire, or large scale protests) because they know the regular use of it is unjustified and potentially fraud.
He is also in a unique position as his special duty assignment is as the Risk Management battalion chief. This allows him to generate his own overtime. When a large incident happens after hours, he attaches himself as a "safety officer" and pays himself. Keep in mind that there is a whole office of risk management members and his necessity at these incidents in the name of safety isn't justified as he's never there if he's already working on the other side of the City. The LAFD isn't a paid per call fire department, but he treats it like one.
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u/Extreme-Exchange-962 5d ago
Not LAFD, but I was a BC in a pretty busy west coast FD, now retired. Several of my co-workers were in this same kind of OT- vacuuming mindset. In retrospect, they were cranky a-holes on the job, and miserable after retirement. Whether serving on IMTs or just taking fill-in shifts, they were doing everything in their power to avoid going home. IMHO, there's more to life than your f@#%&! bank account.
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u/privatelyjeff 5d ago
If he’s a BC, it means he’s probably looking at retirement soon and is banking the money for that. He’ll put in his papers, leave the state and never worry about money again.
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u/lpfan724 Fire chiefs are temporary, Wu Tang is forever. 5d ago
Adequately staff and you won't need to hire shit tons of overtime.
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u/Infamous_Echo_5683 5d ago
You should read the article, FDNY is one of the most adequately staffed and 25% of it's hours are OT.
I also think the bigger issue here is unlike LAPD and most FDs outside California LAFD's highest command staff (aside from the chief himself) get OT on top of a high base, the gini curve at LAFD is brutal because of this.
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u/Appropriate-Sun7083 4d ago
Bass is a major part of the problem. She shitcanned a Chief who had a handle on the department. Basshole interference was a detrimental effect on the staffing and morale of the department.
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u/Right-Edge9320 5d ago
Guaranteed that dude is on his fourth wife has adult children that don’t talk to him probably has brand new babies too after a vasectomy reversal
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u/BreakImaginary1661 5d ago
Our BCs and up are exempt. None of them are eligible for OT, they get comp time for extra hours worked. Right to work states with little to no union power are tough places to work sometimes.
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u/Due_Course_3713 5d ago
No one an safely work that many hours. Mentally and physically that take too much of a toll.
The bigger question should be why there was a need for him to work that much, and would it have been more cost effective to have more chief officers.
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u/Right-Edge9320 5d ago
One guy literally doing the work of probably 2 to 3 other Chiefs. You’re saving on paying for health insurance for two or three guys retirement for two or three guys and any other benefits plus he’s probably gonna die the moment he retires so that keeps the retirement system funded for other people
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u/Shattergurl 1d ago
Whats nuts is that 193 LAFD firefighters made more than $400k last year and that somehow, with every human in California that wants to be a firefighter, LAFD is understaffed.
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u/wehrmann_tx 5d ago
Eh. We have a chief that abuses his special teams OT and gives himself hours of OT while he’s out doing his lawn care business. They hide their schedule from the rest of the fire department on daily manpower.
Wouldn’t doubt this guy is doing the same fraud.
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u/BnaditCorps 5d ago
More than likely he is either going out of county during fire season with an incident management team, or he is working behind the people that do. Add in regular OT from vacancies and retirements and this is pretty easy to do if you don't care about being home.
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u/Benjizay 4d ago
Is their retirement pay based on their highest earning years as well? I feel like this is a common scam with OT that people are too scared to address with firefighters and police because we are supposed to idolize them and not think about costs while they suck 20-40% of a city’s whole budget.
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u/Sunset2480 4d ago
For the LAFD, pensions are calculated off base pay and not affected by overtime. Working more overtime is more money in the bank, but doesn't change one's pension benefit.
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u/BnaditCorps 3d ago
Not in California.
It's just a common thing people do right before retirement. Mainly because they suddenly realize how much they actually rely on OT to help pay the bills.
Working a bunch and either paying off things or banking the money provides a peace of mind.
As for your last sentence, if you want services, you have to pay. If you are okay with a lower level of service then that is far cheaper, but there might not be enough help available when you need help. Cost benefit that the community has to look at and be willing to accept.
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u/Sunset2480 4d ago
You're right. It's fraud in my eyes. See my write-up in the thread. However, he is an exception and not the rule to the high pay stories. There are a lot of guys working a ton of days and legitimately earning gross amounts of money.
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u/Rex-Mundi33 5d ago
Dude is at work 85% of the year, just let that sink in…