Oxnard Chief helping with mental health services for first responders
A South Coast fire chief is leading a team sent to Surfside, Florida to provide mental health support for the search and rescue teams dealing with the devastating building collapse that’s left dozens dead, and more than 80 still missing.
Oxnard Fire Chief Alexander Hamilton is considered to be a national leader in mental health services for the firefighting community. It’s his third deployment of this type of help firefighters around the country.
Two other specially trained Oxnard firefighters are on the trip, as well as peers from Boston, New York, and Phoenix.
Oxnard s finance director has been known to break bad news.
Whether it s a budget in the red or decimated reserves, Kevin Riper has been the bearer of grim news ever since he was hired two years ago.
But the budget update considered during Tuesday s City Council meeting took on a different tone.
The financial situation has turned around for the general fund, Oxnard s main spending account, with $17 million more in revenues than anticipated at the start of the pandemic.
It s owed to a variety of reasons but the main driver of a much improved financial situation is the voter approved Measure E. The new sales tax, an additional 1.5% for city services, begins April 1.