Sunday, July 20, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - As measured by per capita spending, total expenditures on fire and emergency medical services in San Diego County are significantly less than the investments in fire protection made by the jurisdictions in either Orange County or Los Angeles County. Moreover, the gap between San Diego and these other Southern California counties has been growing wider over the past four years.
That is the conclusion of a policy brief released today by the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. According to the policy brief, in FY 2007-2008, the 42 municipalities, fire districts and the County invested a total of $475 million for fire protection, or $151, for each resident of San Diego County. This compares to a per capita investment of $173 in Orange County and $214 in Los Angeles. While San Diego County’s per-capita investment has increased $19, or 14.6% since FY 2004, over those same four years Orange County has upped its per capita investment by $34 and Los Angeles has increased its investment by $33.
Steve Francis, Chairman of the San Diego Institute, stated “Since it is the entire region that mobilizes to respond to major wildfire events it is important to quantify just how much the entire region is investing in fire protection and then compare that to the investments being made by other regions.” He went on to add, “Over the past six months several reports have pointed to deficiencies in our region’s fire protection system. SDI’s research shows that to address these shortfalls the region will have to become dramatically more efficient in how it uses existing resources, make changes in its budget priorities to free up funds, or develop new strategies to increase the funds available for regional fire protection.”
A complete copy of the report can be obtained by contacting the National University System Institute for Policy Research.
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