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Los Angeles Hearth Division Chief Jaime Moore has taken over an company beneath intense scrutiny — and he’s getting paid handsomely to do it.
Moore, who was appointed by Mayor Karen Bass in October, will earn $473,600 a yr, the Metropolis Council determined Tuesday — $18,000 greater than his predecessor, Kristin Crowley, made when she was ousted by Bass in February 2025 for her dealing with of the Palisades fireplace.
The LAFD and the mayor proceed to face intense scrutiny over their dealing with of the Palisades fireplace, which killed 12 individuals and destroyed hundreds of houses in January of final yr, in addition to the watering down of the LAFD after-action report on the hearth.
When Crowley began as fireplace chief in 2022, her annual wage was $367,100.
Quickly after that, the town amended its wage ranges for division heads to maintain up with inflation, mentioned Matt Szabo, the town’s high funds analyst.
Crowley, the town’s first feminine and first LGBTQ fireplace chief, obtained annual benefit raises, in accordance with Szabo.
On Monday, Crowley filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that Bass “orchestrated a marketing campaign of retaliation” to guard her personal political future and paper over her failures through the Palisades fireplace.
The LAFD didn’t instantly touch upon Moore’s wage, which was beneficial by the mayor and the Metropolis Council’s Govt Worker Relations Committee earlier than going to the complete council on Tuesday.
“Investing in sturdy and skilled management fortifies public security for residents,” mentioned a spokesperson for council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who chairs the worker relations committee.
Moore’s wage is pretty akin to that of different metropolis and county public security leaders.
The chief of the Los Angeles County Hearth Division, Anthony Marrone, made $475,000 in base pay in 2024, in accordance with county information.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell was sworn in at a $450,000 wage in 2024 — lower than the $507,500 the Board of Police Commissioners had initially beneficial. McDonnell’s wage as of Tuesday was nonetheless about $450,000.
McDonnell’s wage was a major bounce over the preliminary pay of his predecessor, Michel Moore, who earned $350,000 when he first assumed the place in 2018.
The LAFD has about 3,200 uniformed fireplace personnel, whereas the LAPD has about 8,700 sworn officers.
Each McDonnell and the brand new fireplace chief make far lower than Janisse Quiñones, common supervisor of the Division of Water and Energy, who was sworn in at $750,000 a yr. Salaries for DWP executives should stay aggressive with these of utility firm execs to retain high expertise, in accordance with the town’s Workplace of Public Accountability, which beneficial Quiñones’ wage.
She makes way more than Marty Adams, the earlier division head, who earned about $447,000 a yr when he departed.
Moore, a 30-year LAFD veteran, has spent his first months as chief coping with persistent questions in regards to the division’s administration of the Palisades fireplace.
Per week after the hearth, a Occasions investigation discovered that high LAFD officers didn’t absolutely workers up and pre-deploy all obtainable engines and firefighters to the Palisades and different high-risk areas, regardless of a forecast of dangerously excessive winds.
Bass cited the failure to maintain firefighters on obligation for a second shift as one motive she dismissed Crowley.
The brand new chief has swerved between candid reflection over the division’s failures through the Palisades fireplace and lashing out on the media over what he has referred to as a “smear” marketing campaign in opposition to firefighters who bravely labored to place out the catastrophic blaze.
Moore seemed to be referencing a Occasions report {that a} battalion chief ordered crews to roll up their hoses and depart the world of the Jan. 1 Lachman fireplace, despite the fact that firefighters had complained that the bottom was nonetheless smoldering and rocks remained sizzling to the contact. Days later, the Lachman fireplace reignited into the Palisades fireplace.
Moore has additionally tried to stroll a positive line on the LAFD’s after-action report, which was meant to spell out errors and counsel measures to keep away from repeating them.
The creator of the report, Battalion Chief Kenneth Prepare dinner, declined to endorse the ultimate model due to adjustments that altered his findings and made the report, in his phrases, “extremely unprofessional and inconsistent with our established requirements.”
Probably the most vital change to the report concerned downplaying LAFD officers’ pre-deployment errors.
Moore has admitted that the report was watered down to “soften language and cut back specific criticism of division management,” whereas saying he wouldn’t look into who directed the watering down. However Moore has additionally mentioned that he is not going to enable related edits to future after-action experiences.
Bass has repeatedly denied that she was concerned in any effort to water down the report. However two sources with data of Bass’ workplace have mentioned that Bass needed key findings in regards to the LAFD’s actions eliminated or softened.
Bass has referred to as The Occasions’ reporting “harmful and irresponsible.”
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