Seen Huntington Beach Helicopters Lately?

A QUESTION FOR YOU...
If you're a municipal fire chief would you send your entire staff and all their equipment 500 miles away to a conference at the same time?  Of course not!  If you're a police chief would you send your entire force, including all their cars, motorcycles and other specialized equipment to a workshop in another state at the same time?  Of course not!
  

HUNTINGTON BEACH CHOPPERS ALL IN RENO!
OK, how then, do we explain the fact that the entire Huntington Beach helicopter program - all three choppers and all their pilots - have decamped to Reno, Nevada for the Airborne Law Enforcement Conference this week?  Read about it HERE. That's right - the whole shebang flew their choppers 500 miles away, apparently leaving their home city and contract cities - Costa Mesa and Newport Beach - to be covered by Anaheim and/or the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
 
COSTA MESA PD KNEW
A friend alerted me to this bizarre situation late last night - too late to do any follow-up with officials in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.  I did send an email to Chief Tom Gazsi last night, though, and he replied that he'd seen a communication from Huntington Beach that their choppers would not be available until next Monday.  Apparently the Orange County Sheriff's Department and Anaheim would provide coverage.

NEWPORT BEACH AFFIRMS
Police personnel in Newport Beach also confirmed that the Huntington Beach helicopters were not presently available, and that they would be contacting other agencies for help if necessary.

GETTING THE STRAIGHT SCOOP
I tried to contact officials in Huntington Beach about this situation, but, being Friday, had a hard time finding anyone in charge that could respond to the question.  Finally I was connected with a captain in the Police Department.  When I asked him about this report he replied, "Definitely not!", and took offense that I would put any credence to such an unsubstantiated rumor.  He said, "They're all over at the heliport!"  We talked awhile, then he said he'd check this out and get back to me, which he did within a few minutes.  That call was very different.  He confirmed that the entire helicopter staff had flown their choppers to Reno for the conference.  He told me that McDonald Douglas paid for one chopper to go as a marketing effort to sell more of their helicopters and that the others flew up to Reno so the pilots could get "cross-country time".  He apologized to me for his earlier hostile response, stating that he just couldn't imagine all the pilots and all the equipment flying off to Reno at the same time.  Hmmm, neither could I.

TRAINING IS ONE THING, BUT...
Having flown helicopters in the military myself, I understand the interest in getting "cross-country time" under your belt.  In the normal course of patrolling locally the opportunity for such flights would be few and far between.  Once you're licensed it's not required, but is helpful to keep your skills up.  I don't have a problem with that.  Nor do I have a problem with pilots attending that conference.  What I DO have a problem with is the entire crew ALL attending at the same time, leaving their area of responsibility for other entities to TRY to cover!

POTENTIAL PUBLIC SAFETY IMPACT IS HUGE!
Beyond being a truly strange management decision, the potential impact on local public safety is enormous!  They will be gone through this entire weekend - a time when the Orange County Fair opens with what is expected to be record crowds AND both Newport Beach and Huntington Beach are expecting large beach crowds, too. 
 
IT'S NOT THE MONEY, IT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY
OK, and before you jump all over me for implying that the absence of Huntington Beach helicopters is costing us money, I know that we only pay them for the actual hours we use.  That's not the question.  The question is one of professional responsibility and what certainly seems to be a major lapse in management judgment on the part of those in charge over on the other side of the Santa Ana River.

WHAT DOES OUR CONTRACT REQUIRE?
I don't know if the terms of the contract Costa Mesa has with Huntington Beach require a certain level of availability or not.  I imagine there is an expectation of a minimum level of coverage somewhere in it - maybe not.  I've spoken with former A.B.L.E. members who tell me that this conference is a very valuable training experience, but they NEVER sent the entire organization at the same time.  Usually one flight crew and a supervisor would attend, then share the knowledge acquired with the remainder of the organization.  And, they NEVER flew A.B.L.E. choppers to these events - they flew commercial airlines.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Is this a big deal?  I don't know... you tell me.  I acknowledge a heightened sensitivity to this issue because of the rapidly-rising crime rate in Costa Mesa and wonder how more frequent helicopter coverage might affect it.  In my view, it becomes a big deal if we need helicopter coverage on an event and can't get it on a timely basis because our contractor is out of town.  I'm interested in your views...
 

Huntington Beach Qualifies Anti-Pension Bill For November

THIS JUST IN...
Just a moment ago the following email came in over the transom from Huntington Beach Mayor Don Hansen.  Looks like "pensions" are going to be all over the ballot in November.

***

Friends-

I've got some great news.

Tax relief is on its way to Huntington Beach.

Just a few hours ago, our City Clerk informed me that our Initiative to eliminate the Huntington Beach Pension Property Tax has qualified for the November ballot.

For months now, we've been out on the streets collecting signatures to try to take this Measure to the voters.

The support from our community was overwhelming. By the time we turned in the petitions, we had over 150% of the requirement to reach the November Ballot. The Orange County Registrar's office didn't even need to count all the way through our signatures to verify that we had more than enough.

Voters were more than happy to sign up to get the chance to remove this tax.

This is great news for our City and its taxpayers.

Voters will now decide whether homeowners should continue to be unfairly asked to pick up the tab for lavish union pensions.

But now the difficult part begins.

We are going to have to campaign hard throughout the Summer and Fall to ensure that this measure passes.

The Special Interests that have been enjoying the benefits of this tax aren't going to go quietly into the night. They are going to fight this every step of the way.

But we have got the voters and what is right on our side, and that should be enough when all is said and done.

You will be hearing more from me in the coming weeks and months about this campaign.

But for right now, for tonight, let's take a moment to celebrate. Tax relief is coming to Huntington Beach!

Thanks again for your support!

Don Hansen

Mayor

City of Huntington Beach

Studying Combined Services Not A Done Deal - Yet

JUMPED THE GUN
It seems the City of Costa Mesa may have jumped the gun just a little bit when it announced, through a press release by Interim Communication Director Bill Lobdell last week, HERE, that plans were in the works to pay for a consultant to study the possible amalgamation of certain city services with Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.

HUNTINGTON BEACH HAS NOT YET APPROVED
According to a report by former Fountain Valley Mayor Gus Ayer in the Surf City Voice today, HERE, the Huntington Beach City Council has yet to officially bless this plan and the expenditure of the dollars involved. According to the Huntington Beach City Clerk's office, it is expected to consider it at its next meeting on Monday, August 1st. If Huntington Beach approves it, there is a likelihood that the studies will begin immediately and might be finished in four to five months.

AWAITING WORD FROM NEWPORT BEACH
I've contacted the City of Newport Beach to find out if these studies have already been approved in their city. So far, no reply to my inquiries has been received.

HATCH'S AUTHORITY TO APPROVE
According to Lobdell today, the Costa Mesa City Council is aware of Hatch's plan for this study and is "OK with it", even though it has not been discussed in an open forum of which we are aware. Apparently the decision to proceed with such a study falls within the purview of Hatch's job and he has the discretionary authority to disperse the funds necessary. Lobdell tells me these funds will come from budgeted salary accounts in which positions have not yet been filled. We've got a lot of those these days, which is how we're paying for so many consultants at City Hall.

WILL THE COUNCIL LISTEN THIS TIME?
Personally, I don't have a problem with this study - it makes some sense to evaluate our options. What does bother me, though, is the fact that the same consultant - Management Partners - spent several months evaluating the Costa Mesa Police Department and presented a report to the council outlining their recommendations for a bare-bones re-structuring. That report was promptly and resoundingly ignored and the council approved an even more stark staffing level. Not only did the council ignore Management Partners, but it also ignored an earlier report by then-Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley - a legend in state-wide law enforcement circles. Following the council's decision to ignore Management Partners Staveley resigned and left in his wake a scathing indictment of this council that still resonates throughout City Hall and the community today.

A VERY GOOD QUESTION
In his essay Ayers asks the question, "Why would any city want to partner with Costa Mesa on a study right now?" As you will see when you read it, he goes on to outline several reasons why ANY city might pause before engaging in such a partnership with Costa Mesa right now. Such is our reputation within the community of cities that form Orange County these days.

THOSE DARN DETAILS...
If these studies do proceed I hope the scope of work for them - not available for public review at this time - will provide direction to "drill deep enough" this time. The police restructuring study was a "high level" study that apparently didn't provide enough detail for some council members. That, of course, was not Management Partners' fault - it was ours for not describing the scope of work adequately. With this council, that's the way they operate - they take an opinion and try to create facts to support it.