The salaries of Los Angeles Fire Department's top leaders are under the microscope amid deadly wildfires that have ravaged the area since Tuesday morning.
Newsweek has reached to the L.A. Fire Department and Mayor Karen Bass' office via email Saturday morning. This article will be updated with any provided remarks.
Why It Matters
Los Angeles has been battling a series of devastating wildfires that have left at least 11 people dead and demolished over 12,000 structures across the city.
Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, has come under sharp criticism for a decrease in funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department amid the devastating wildfires.
LAFD Salaries for Chief, Deputy Chiefs
Here are the salaries for the three highest-ranking LAFD chiefs according to Kenneth Mejia, CPA, City Controller of Los Angeles.
Kristin Crowley, Fire Chief - 2024: Base Pay: $207,747.08, Overtime Pay: $3,209.44, Other Pay: $20,723.16, Personnel Benefits: $11,173.92, Total Pay: $231,679.68. 2023: Base Pay: $412,493.66, Overtime Pay: $0, Other Pay: $27, 278.73, Personnel Benefits: $21,925.34, Total Pay: $439,772.39.
Jason Hing, Deputy Chief, Commander of Emergency Operations -2024: Base Pay: $135,175.59, Overtime Pay: $10,427.47, Other Pay: $13,186.62, Personnel Benefits: $21,925.34, Total Pay: $158,789.68. 2023: Base Pay: $249,519.23, Overtime Pay: $69,122.10. Other Pay: $12,730.38, Other Pay: $21,925.34. Total Pay: $331,371.71.
Orin Saunders, Deputy Chief, Commander of Administrative Operations - 2024: Base Pay: $181,349.98, Overtime Pay: $0, Other Pay: $17,783.64, Personnel Benefits: $6,164.90, Total Pay: $199,133.62. 2023: Base Pay: $343,001.91, Overtime Pay: $36,224.27, Other Pay: $24,351.00, Base Pay: $12,018.16, Total Pay: $403, 577.18.
What To Know
According to city budget documents, funding for the city's fire department decreased by $17.6 million, or 2 percent, from the 2023-24 fiscal year to the 2024-25 fiscal year. Despite this reduction, the city council approved a four-year, $203 million contract with the firefighter's union in November to raise wages and improve health benefits for staff, utilizing funds from the budget's general fund.
Last month, Crowley wrote a memo to Bass urgently requesting additional funds and expressing concerns that a separate $7 million cut in overtime funds could hinder fire response efforts. The overtime cuts "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies," she wrote.
Crowley, Los Angeles' fire chief since March of 2022, also attributed the budget cuts to the elimination of 58 positions, adjustments to salaries and the removal of one-time expenses. While still bringing home more than $200,000 per year, the fire chief's own total pay decreased by 47 percent between 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, Saunders went from collecting more than $36,000 in overtime pay to $0 between the same two years.
Since the recent fires erupted, Crowley has emphasized that they would have caused catastrophic damage regardless of the budget. However, when asked in an interview on Friday if City Hall had failed the department, she responded with a firm "Yes," without directly mentioning the mayor.
"It's my job to stand up as a chief and clearly state what the Fire Department needs to operate effectively and meet the demands of the community," Crowley told Fox11 in Los Angeles.
What They're Saying
Bass, when asked at Thursday's press conference about the budget cuts: "There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days. The unprecedented windstorm, wind at such ferocity that we haven't seen in years, is the context in which we were dealing with this."
President Joe Biden, during an Oval Office meeting with Bass appearing virtually: "I know you're getting a bad rap. This is complicated stuff, and you're going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it."
What Happens Next
Fire crews are continuing to fight the wildfires. Meanwhile, the Santa Ana winds in Southern California are expected to pick up again over the weekend and potentially into next week, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall told The New York Times, threatening more destruction in the state.
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