Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass approved the salary of LAFD chief Christine Crowley, who was fired, prior to the fatal Palisade fire and her firing, more than a month after California’s third most destructive fire began on the Los Angeles County coast.
In a letter to the city’s controller dated December 27th, Bass approved an increase in the benefits of 2.5% veteran compensation for 25 years. About two months later, Bass cited the failure of the leadership of the Pallisard Fire, which erupted on January 7th at Santa Anna Windstorm on January 7th and was announced as Crowley’s Dissal as a Dissal.
“That’s accurate. We gave the majority of general managers an increase in merit,” Bus said Monday when asked about the pay increase at a press conference. “The salary increase was approved in December and then there was an event in January.”
In a letter to Controller Kenneth Mezia in December, Bus said it had completed a written assessment of the fire chief and approved an increase in compensation. Controller’s office said it received 20 letters on December 27th from the mayor’s office notifying the controller’s pay claims office of the approved merit salary increase for 20 employees, including Crawley, who is under the mayor’s supervision.
Crawley keeps the division at the bottom. Her new title is the assistant chief of LAFD’s Operation Valley Bureau.
The bus praised Crawley early in the fire, but she later said she learned that 1,000 more firefighters could have been deployed the day the Palisade fire began. Bass also said Crowley refused to prepare a report on the fire.
City Councilman opposed the majority of the council and voted in favor of former LAFD chief Christine Crowley considering the potential political implications of their choices. Alex Rozier is reporting an NBC4 News report on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025 at 6pm.
Publicly criticising the department’s budget cuts, Crawley filed a passionate plea and addressed some of the base comments on March 3 in a failed appeal of her firing before the Los Angeles City Council.
Crawley dealt with accusations of department staffing and reiterated the statement that the department was restricted due to fire engines being sidelined for maintenance. Crowley says the budget cuts have affected the mechanics, primarily the fire engines and ambulances that need repairs.
Crowley said she recommended working together with the Fire Safety Institute (FSRI) in her post-fire report, rebutting the mayor’s claim that the chief had not notified her office about wind storms and the conditions of a life-threatening wildfire.
Crawley sided with her to file a lawsuit in order to move forward, ten of the Council’s 15 members. The appeal failed with a 13-2 vote.
The mayor’s office issued a statement after the hearing.
“After testimony from the former chief who confirmed that he had sent the firefighters home on the morning of January 7th, her appeal that she did not advance the internal litigation report was denied 13-2 by city council members,” Zach Saidl, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, said after the council vote. “This is a public safety issue and an issue for the operation of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The city of Los Angeles is moving forward.”
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