Fire Department Audit Sent to Review Panel : Government: Supervisors ask the committee to determine how the county should correct problems noted in the report.

Ventura County supervisors on Tuesday decided to forward the findings of an audit criticizing the County Fire Department to a citizens committee established last month to look for waste in the department.

The board voted 4 to 0 to ask the review panel to determine how the county should correct problems outlined in the 16-page audit. Supervisor John Flynn was absent.

The advisory committee, made up of representatives from a variety of government, civic and community groups, was formed by the supervisors several weeks ago to recommend how to improve County Fire Department management. The panel will meet for the first time next week to begin its study of the 443-employee agency.

“The audit lays out some concerns and some questions about the way we have done things,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said. “We should use it as a tool for change.”

The internal evaluation--released last week by county Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon--found that the County Fire Department is top-heavy with managers, spends too much on overtime and is lax with sick leave.

Mahon called for the department to cut overtime spending, which accounted for $5.5 million of its $43-million budget last year. He also recommended that the department reduce some of its 26 management positions and monitor sick time for possible abuse.

He noted in the report that employees took 49,000 hours in sick leave last year.

Mahon told the supervisors: “The audit concentrated on areas that can be improved. . . . What we have offered is a great opportunity. People expect changes. In order to achieve that, you have to look at the way business is being done.”

County Fire Chief George Lund told the supervisors that some of the recommendations outlined by Mahon could impede emergency services. However, he said he would work with the citizens committee to find solutions to the problems.

The supervisors had requested the audit in July after critics accused the department of being too generous with overtime.

On Sept. 28, the supervisors agreed to form a 24-member citizens group, saying the county needs outside viewpoints on ways to fix County Fire Department problems.

“I still think every department from time to time needs to have an honest evaluation of its efforts,” Supervisor Vicky Howard said. “There may be resistance to change, but I hope (the Fire Department) will look at this objectively.”

Most of the audit scrutinized the department’s personnel practices. It also studied the department’s fleet operations and reviewed its fire prevention efforts.

It found that on average, county firefighters each received $8,000 annually in overtime pay. Engineers averaged $18,000 a year and captains received $23,000 for working extra hours.

Also, all of the county’s 30 stations are staffed at the same level, regardless of the level of activity. For example, during 1992, 11 stations that responded to fewer than 300 calls had the same level of staffing as the six stations that responded to 1,000 calls.

Supervisor Maria VanderKolk said the audit was “not meant to be a finger-pointing exercise” but rather a blueprint for improvement.

“We acknowledge there are some changes that need to be made here,” VanderKolk said. “It really is an excellent report and it gives us something to put our finger on.”

The citizens panel is expected to meet at least six times between October and January to outline its recommendations. The panel’s preliminary report is set to be completed in December. A final report is due in March.

The panel will include appointees from each of the five county supervisors, a representative from each city served by the County Fire Department, and representatives from area municipal advisory committees.

The group will also include representatives from the Ventura County Economic Development Assn., the Ventura County Farm Bureau and the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

Michael Saliba, the executive director of the taxpayers association, told the supervisors that his group is anxious to participate in the evaluation.

“We appreciated the fact the auditor didn’t really pull any punches in the report,” he said.