What the OCFA Board is about to decide
The Board of Directors meets Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Regional Fire Operations and Training Center, 1 Fire Authority Road, Irvine. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — nothing below has been approved yet. Every item links to the official record.
Source: official agenda (PDF) · ocfa.org Board agendas & minutes · Next regular meeting: Thursday, October 22, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
✅ What actually passed (per the draft minutes, pending board approval): The draft minutes, posted as Item 2A of the October 22 agenda packet, record that 17 of the board’s 25 directors were present (Directors Landau and Nguyen arrived after the start; the minutes list Foley, Frost and Horne as absent at roll call and name Farias, Shawver, Hasselbrink, Bacerra and Campbell as absent on the votes). The five-year firefighters’ contract passed 15-1-1: on a motion by Director McGirr, seconded by Director Jennings, the board approved the memorandum of understanding with the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association for March 19, 2027 through March 11, 2032, with Director Tettemer voting no and Director Frackelton abstaining. Per the minutes, Tettemer “expressed concerns over the term length, its long term effects on cash contract cities and that the budget does not reflect all the capital demands on OCFA,” and Frackelton’s substitute motion to continue the item to the November meeting “failed for lack of a second.” The consent calendar (Items 2A–2I) was approved 17-0 on a motion by Director Munzing, seconded by Director Ruesch — that block includes the $27,997,932 and $13,193,452 carryovers described below. The injury-management pilot: 17-0 for all four staff recommendations. Director Brietigam first moved to go straight to a new request for proposals (then amended it to keep the program month-to-month until the RFP is done); Vice Chair Patel’s substitute motion, seconded by Director Frackelton, to approve the staff recommendations as written — a six-month extension of the current contract contingent on the cost-sharing side letter with Local 3631, six months of metrics, mid-year budget adjustments and a new RFP — “passed unanimously by a 17-0 vote.” Out of closed session, General Counsel reported that on Item CS7 the board “unanimously appointed TJ McGovern to the position of Fire Chief, effective immediately, pending appointment of a new Fire Chief after the current recruitment is completed”; there were no other reportable actions, and Items CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS6 were deleted. Also per the minutes: Director Martinez Franco presented a $100,000 check from Irvine-based Maruchan Inc., and Director Traut asked that two-year board terms be agendized.
Our first brief on the Orange County Fire Authority. OCFA is the regional fire agency whose board is made up of elected officials from its member cities and the county; its agendas carry the budget, labor and equipment decisions behind fire and paramedic service across much of Orange County. The results box above comes from the draft minutes of this meeting, which the board is asked to approve on October 22.
The headline: a new five-year contract with the firefighters’ union — the memorandum of understanding with the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, running March 19, 2027 through March 11, 2032 — is the one item on the discussion calendar that asks for a vote on a contract. The agenda gives no dollar figure for it. On consent, the board is asked to carry over $27,997,932 in fire-station and facilities spending and $13,193,452 in fire-apparatus spending from last fiscal year, among seven carryover adjustments.
🔥 Firefighter contract and an injury-management pilot
- Firefighters’ MOU: the board is asked to “approve the proposed MOU between the Orange County Fire Authority and the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association for a term of March 19, 2027, through March 11, 2032.” The agenda does not state the cost or the terms. Submitted by Deputy Chief Robert C. Cortez and Assistant Chief Stephanie Holloman. Item 3A
- Rapid Intervention Injury Management pilot: after a one-year pilot, staff recommend extending the current SCU-HS “Rapid Intervention Injury Management and Navigation Services” contract for an additional six months, “contingent upon continuation of the cost sharing Side Letter Agreement with OCPFA Local 3631,” collecting six more months of program metrics before returning to the board; negotiating an extension of the Local 3631 cost-sharing side letter for the duration of the program; folding the revenue and expenditure adjustments into the FY 2026-27 mid-year budget adjustment in the third quarter; and running a new RFP “with refined scope of services.” No dollar figure is given. Item 3B
💰 Money on the consent calendar
- Carryover of FY 2025-26 projects in progress — seven budget adjustments to the FY 2026/27 budget: General Fund (121) revenues $6,551,051 and expenditures $6,661,883; General Fund CIP (12110) expenditures $12,706,424; Fire Stations and Facilities Fund (123) $27,997,932; Communications and Information Systems Fund (124) $7,612,805; Fire Apparatus Fund (133) $13,193,452; Settlement Agreement Fund (139) $1,500,000; Structural Fire Entitlement Fund (171) $2,421,581. The agenda lists the figures without describing the projects. Item 2E
- Federal Urban Search & Rescue funding: a resolution accepting the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA fiscal year 2026 Urban Search & Rescue Readiness Cooperative Agreement funding, and a budget adjustment “increasing revenues and expenditures by $1,898,333” in the FY 2026/27 General Fund. Item 2C
- CalOES equipment reimbursement rates: adoption of “Updated Equipment Cost Reimbursement Rates” negotiated with Cal OES, effective October 1, 2026. The agenda does not list the rates. Item 2D
- State wildland fire agreement: the Board Chair would sign an assignment to OCFA of the County’s three-year agreement with CAL FIRE to provide wildland fire protection in the State Responsibility Areas. Item 2F
📝 Also on consent
- A new Clerk of the Authority: a resolution appointing Liliana Escobedo as Clerk of the Authority. The agenda is signed by Kimberly Johnson as Interim Clerk. Item 2B
- Conflict of Interest Code: the biennial review — a resolution adopting a revised code “which supersedes all prior conflict of interest codes,” to be submitted to the Orange County Board of Supervisors as the code-reviewing body. Item 2I
- SB 707 outreach plan: review and approval of the “Senate Bill 707 Proposed Strategic Plan” on public participation and outreach. Item 2G
- Fire Prevention Week proclamation for October 4–10, 2026, and approval of the June 25, 2026 regular meeting minutes. Items 2H, 2A
🔒 Closed session
- Interim Fire Chief: a public employee appointment/employment conference under Government Code Section 54957(b)(1), title “Interim Fire Chief.” The agenda does not explain the circumstances. CS7
- Labor negotiations with the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 3631), the Orange County Employee Association and the OCFA Managers Association, with negotiators Peter Brown of Liebert Cassidy, Robert C. Cortez and Stephanie Holloman; and separately with the Chiefs Officers Association. CS4, CS5
- Litigation: one case of significant exposure to litigation; and three existing cases — Kaitlyn Breton vs. OCFA (Case No. 30-2024-01402088-CU-WT-WJC), Catherine Quaid vs. OCFA (Case No. 30-2023-01332308-CU-PO-WJC) and McGovern vs. OCFA (Case No. 0518-WC-25-0300316). CS1, CS2, CS3, CS6
📋 Reports, no vote
- A report from the Budget and Finance Committee, and the Fire Chief’s report: 9/11 and upcoming Firefighter Memorial remembrance ceremonies, OCFA strategic goals for the fourth quarter of FY 2025-26, the Wildfire Resource Center groundbreaking, the introduction of Assistant Chief of EMS/Training Cheyne Maule, and a US&R / technical rescue presentation by Battalion Chief Mike Yeun. No presentation items are scheduled. Reports A–B, Item 1
- Coming in the next three months, per the agenda’s outlook: the 2027 board and committee meeting calendar, a procurement award, the annual investment policy, cost reimbursement rates and the legislative platform. The Budget and Finance Committee meets October 14 at noon and the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee October 21 at noon.
Council Brief summaries are produced from official public records by our automated newsroom and reviewed before publication. Items are described as posted; the council may amend, continue, or remove items at the meeting. Spot an error? hello@councilbrief.com — we publish corrections.
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