Fire Department's mysterious redeployment plan

Well, the fire chief says that the department can cut its budget by $54 million without having to close any station or lay off any firefighter or increase the initial response times. Those assurances were taken to the City Council today, and as you might guess, not everyone bought in. Frankly, the proposed budget makes it hard to separate fact from fancy (as the LA Weekly reports), and the Fire Department redeployment typifies that confusion. Dozens of firefighters in matching white T-shirts were in the Council chambers today to protest the plan, which they fear will cause more pain than city officials are letting on. But the pain, whatever its degree, is only getting started, at least based on the city's deficit projections going out the next four years. With only a couple of exceptions, there is virtually no recognition among council members of the trouble we're in. Here are stories from the LAT and City Maven.