Budget earmarks $4.4M for CalFire investigations unit
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee
Next year’s state budget will include $4.4 million to set up a personnel unit inside CalFire that will oversee internal investigations and employee discipline, according to details, as well as train managers and personnel staff to avoid future problems.
Scandals that have buffeted CalFire for two years prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to propose the Professional Standards Program over objections from the state firefighters’ union, CalFire Local 2881. Union leaders worried it would create an incentive to drum up charges or exaggerate minor infractions to justify the 14 positions attached to the program.
The budget represents a compromise.