2

Mountain View News Saturday, October 12, 2024

PUBLIC SAFETY - SIERRA MADRE EVENTS

WHY THE URGENCY WITH BALLOT MEASURE PS

By: Martha Walsworth 

From 1921 until 2007 the fire and medical services to the City of Sierra Madre were provided 
by a committed and dedicated group of volunteers with almost no budget impact to the city. 
In 2007 the residents of our city voted to receive Advanced Life Support (Paramedic) services 
which caused a strain on the city budget. The UUT was implemented to support the Paramedic 
Program and further staffing costs for police personnel. 

For several years the volunteer department struggled to keep volunteers in place. By 2015 Sierra 
Madre could no longer adequately staff the fire department in order to respond to calls and the 
city then considered contracting the fire services to another entity such as Arcadia, maintaining 
our own department, or exploring various options. Residents of the city made their wishes clear 
that they wanted to maintain our own public safety departments. 

The City Council, struggling with budget increases and revenue issues, created by the UUT 
sunsetting from its 10% level to 8% and it was heading to 6% the next year, created a citizens 
group to analyze the city’s future revenues and rising costs. The Group presented their findings 
and recommendations to the City Council on September 22, 2015. Their findings indicated that 
the UUT should be increased to at least the previous level of 10%, and a stable revenue source 
such as a parcel tax was urged for the future if the city was to maintain our own fire department.

On September 1, 2019, the city chose to implement a career fire department. A full-time career 
department is a huge budget increase for the city and the department has been struggling to recruit 
and retain good, qualified people since they were earning 12-25% less than the comparable cities. 
To stop the continuous revolving door in both our police and fire departments, salary increases 
were applied to both departments. It took major efforts on the part of both departments (2019 
to April of 2024) to get the staffing numbers up to what was needed.

There has been a lot of criticism on social media as to why the City Council did not address 
this matter sooner. The City Council has been addressing this matter for years, looking for 
ways to generate additional revenue for the city and cutting costs where possible. No one could 
have predicted the massive nationwide staffing shortages in fire and police departments across 
the country and most especially in Southern California. All the departments in our area are 
struggling to keep their staffing numbers in place. Some departments are so desperate to get 
people to work they are offering sign-on bonuses and luring people away from other departments. 
This is creating a crisis in smaller cities who are desperately trying to maintain their personnel. 
Sierra Madre can’t compete in this arena, and we have a fire and police department that are 
highly trained, qualified and professional. They are working in Sierra Madre because they 
understand how wonderful our city is. 

Our city is a wonderful place to live in large part because of our public safety departments. 
Our city is a safe place to live where people feel safe walking on our streets, our crime rates are 
low, and parents feel comfortable allowing their children to be downtown and being with their 
friends. People and businesses are not being hassled by homeless people camping in our parks 
and doorways. 

A group of concerned citizens partnered with the police and fire unions and agreed to work 
towards generating a measure that would provide for additional revenue for our city to maintain 
stability in our police and fire departments. This committed group was able to attain the 
signatures required to get Ballot Measure PS on the November ballot.

There are those on social media who are stating that this is a scare tactic by the city and why 
don’t we just have sheriffs like La Canada. First and foremost, this is a citizen’s initiative by a 
group of concerned citizens and our public safety departments. This is a critical time for our 
city because if we can’t maintain the staffing in our departments they can’t function in their 
capacity.

For the record the Long Beach police department is one of the hardest hit and is down several 
hundred officers from their staffing requirements. You see crime rates soaring and burnout in 
their departments.

For those of you who feel that we should just go to sheriffs and county fire which is what La 
Canada has please be aware that you will be getting less service and have line items for those 
public safety services much greater than Measure PS. The property tax bill in La Canada has 
line items to cover their public safety costs and a additional direct assessment. The information 
that I received was $3,000 for one million is property assessment.

Time is of the essence. Please vote YES on Measure PS to help protect our city! 


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

September 29 – October 5 , 2024 

Calls for Service 282 Formal Investigations 8

 

Total Year to Date for 2024 

Calls for Service 8,939 Formal Investigations 403 


The following represents a summary report of some of the major incidents handled by 
the Sierra Madre Police Department during this period. This list is not intended to be 
considered exclusive or all-inclusive.

Sunday, September 29 Auto Burglary

At approximately 1:30 AM, officers responded to the 600 block of West Sierra Madre 
Blvd regarding suspicious circumstances. A citizen reported he saw a vehicle trunk open 
and a man walking away from the vehicle. Officers arrived on scene and noticed the 
vehicle’s trunk open along with the passanger door. Officers met with the owner of the 
vehicle who stated she was missing various items from her vehicle. Officers canvassed 
the area and were able to locate the subject who had the vehicle owner’s possessions still 
on him. The victim was able to identify her belongings and the items were given back. 
The subject was arrested and transported to Pasadena Jail. The case has been forwarded 
to the District Attorney’s office for filing considerations.

Sunday, September 29 Traffic Accident

At approximately 12:30 PM, officers responded to Santa Anita Ave and Arno Dr for a 
traffic collision. Based on the officer’s investigation, it appeared the citizen caused this 
collision by failing to properly place her vehicle in park while leaving it unattended, 
in violation of an unattended Vehicle on the Highway. Officer’s took a report and 
documented the damage.

Wednesday, October 2 Vehicle Stop

At approximately 5:00 PM, while on patrol, officers conducted a traffic stop on Baldwin 
Ave and Orange Grove Ave. The vehicle was stopped for expired registration tabs. A 
records check of the vehicle showed the registration had been expired since 2020, and 
the vehicle was displaying 2023 registration tabs. Officers removed the 2023 registration 
tabs from the vehicle and booked the registration tab into evidence. The driver was cited 
and released into the field.

Saturday, October 5 Injured Person

At approximately 12:00 PM, officers responded to the 200 block of West Sierra Madre 
Blvd in regards to a citizen who fell and sustained injuries. Sierra Madre fire department 
was on scene and treated the citizen. She declined medical transport. The citizen stated 
her foot caught the raised concrete which caused her to fall forward. Officers took a 
report for documentation purposes.

Saturday, October 5 Vehicle Violation

At approximately 2:40 PM, while on patrol, officers conducted a traffic stop on the 3000 
block of East Sierra Madre Blvd for a vehicle without license plates. The driver told 
officers his license was expired, a records check revealed his license was suspended. The 
vehicle was displaying temporary paper plates which did not return back to the vehicle. 
A records check of the vehicle showed the registration had been expired since 2023. The 
driver was cited, and the vehicle was towed.

Saturday, October 5 Stolen Vehicle

At approximately 10:30 PM, officers responded to the 200 block of North Grove St in 
regards to a stolen vehicle investigation. The vehicle owner stated he did not give anyone 
permission to take, use, or drive his vehicle. The suspect who took the vehicle is known 
to the citizen. The case has been forwarded to the Detective Bureau for follow-up.


ABOUT THE MEASURE

The Public Safety for Sierra Madre Measure is a citizen-led initiative to raise the 
necessary funds to keep Sierra Madre safe. Without additional funding, our police 
and fire departments could be at risk of closing and being outsourced to county 
agencies.

The measure raises over $2 million over the next 7 years by issuing a parcel tax on 
lots throughout the city. These funds would be subject to strict auditing that protects 
your tax dollars and ensures that funds stay in Sierra Madre to keep our city safe