For over a decade, the City of Lompoc has grappled with retaining its firefighters, who have found themselves falling behind their counterparts in compensation. According to data collected by both the City and the Lompoc Firefighters Association from 2021-2023, Lompoc firefighters are consistently behind the average pay rate at all ranks by at least 20%.
This trend has been worsening, despite the Association warning the City years ago. This pay disparity is a primary factor in the department’s recruitment and retention struggles, as firefighters are tempted to leave for better-paying jobs at neighboring departments. Last year, the situation reached a crisis point, with firefighters being forced to work over 8,000 hours of mandatory overtime just to maintain adequate staffing levels due to rampant vacancies.
At the December 19, 2023 City Council Meeting, following failed negotiations during the state mediation process, Mayor Jenelle Osborne addressed the issue. “Your message has been heard. We are committed to get you what we can provide you and then some. And we want to go back into those negotiations and get you closer,” Osborne stated. She further affirmed, “I will accept the 2nd by Councilmember Starbuck as well as the commitment to immediately move back into negotiations…we are all committed to getting there.”
Councilmember Gilda Cordova echoed this sentiment, affirming, “We get to renegotiate and go back to the table. We hope you’ll come back to the table with us.”
Eager to make progress, the Lompoc Firefighters Association took the mayor at her word and submitted a new proposal just three days later, on December 22, 2023. Unfortunately, the City’s response was deafeningly silent for nearly three months until March 21, 2024. And when it finally arrived, the counter-offer was an insult – the exact same deal the City had proposed from the outset, despite the mayor’s pledge to “get [the firefighters] closer.”
The Cost of Losing Employees
This disconnect between the City Council’s public statements and private actions is deeply concerning, as the failure to address the compensation disparity affecting Lompoc firefighters has severe consequences.
The cost of recruitment, training, and equipping new firefighters to replace those who leave is substantial. When a firefighter departs, the City incurs significant sunk costs, including hiring process costs, onboarding and fire academy costs, personal protective equipment costs, and training attendance costs. The more experienced the departing employee, the greater the sunk costs.
According to the Association’s estimates, the City has already spent over $3 million in sunk costs alone on employees they failed to retain over the past 15 years. Furthermore, the loss of experienced firefighters leads to a spike in overtime costs due to staffing vacancies.
The retention crisis plaguing the Lompoc Fire Department has escalated from primarily affecting entry-level firefighters to experienced members at all ranks, including chiefs. Over the last decade, the department has seen a staggering 140% turnover rate, with more than 30 firefighters at all levels leaving or failing to complete their probationary period. When factoring in retirees, that number climbs to nearly 40 out of an authorized force of just 29 sworn personnel.
This revolving door of employees diminishes institutional knowledge, expertise, and morale while hindering succession planning for years to come. The low compensation also diminishes the quality of the applicant pool, contributing to the high turnover rate as many new hires are unable to complete their probationary year.
While elected officials like Mayor Osborne have promised immediate action and a commitment to providing firefighters with better compensation, the lack of substantive movement at the negotiating table tells a different story. The firefighters of Lompoc have demonstrated remarkable dedication to their community, working exhausting hours to fill the gaps left by excessive vacancies. They deserve far better than empty promises and unchanged proposals from those tasked with upholding the city’s commitments.
As this saga continues to unfold, Lompoc residents must demand accountability and authentic leadership. When words spoken in open sessions ring hollow, public trust erodes. The city council’s mandates should be swiftly executed through good-faith negotiations, not disregarded behind closed doors. Only then can Lompoc lay claim to being a city truly governed by the will of its people.