During a fiery Los Banos City Council meeting on Aug. 21, the council approved a three-year agreement with the Los Banos Firefighters Association and came under the withering criticism of developer Greg Hostetler.
The firefighters will see increases of roughly 6 percent over the three-year life of the agreement, bringing them closer to salaries in other regional fire departments.
“I’m happy for them,” said Fire Chief Paul Tualla of his 18 full-time staff members — six captains, six engineers and six firefighters. But, Tualla said, compared to other fire departments, his firefighters are still underpaid.
The salary for a Los Banos fire captain at the top of the scale (Step 6), will be $116,616 by 2026 – or about $10,300 ahead of the current salary found on the city’s website. The salary for the lowest-ranking Step 1 firefighters will be $71,580, while firefighters at Step 6 will earn $91,356 plus benefits.
A survey done last year by the state found the average California firefighter earned $107,364 per year. Captains earned $142,596. The website govsalaries.com showed total average compensation for an urban firefighter in California is $202,275, including benefits and overtime. The average included those in small rural cities like Los Banos and those in cities like Beverly Hills, where the average yearly salary is over $300,000.
Under the contract, Los Banos firefighters will receive a 3 percent raise each year for 3 years. The city also agreed to substantial increases in the health insurance benefits.
The contract was approved on a unanimous, 5-0 vote and is expected to take effect this month. The details, which were still in the form of a memorandum of understanding, were included in the city council agenda packet from its Aug. 21 meeting.
During the council meeting’s public comment period, there were some fiery moments aimed at the council.
Hostetler – who has been vilified by some members of the council – responded to accusations that he hasn’t lived up to his obligations to the city. Then he leveled some serious accusations of his own.
Hostetler accused the council majority — Brett Jones, Douglas Begonia Jr., Ken Lambert and Mayor Paul Llanez — of a lack of transparency for failing to provide a public review of the 2024-25 city budget. The budget document has not been made public except as a “draft” and then can only be found in the 755-page “agenda packet” of the June 5 council meeting.
Hostetler then went much further against Jones specifically.
“I think you are financially illiterate,” said Hostetler, looking directly at Jones. “I looked at your history, where you filed bankruptcy,” noting that Jones sought court protection from “over 30 creditors.”
Hostetler produced records showing that Jones had assets of only $6,631 and liabilities of $154,061 in 2013.
Councilmembers Jones and Begonia are facing a recall election by voters, stemming from the $1.8 million payment to fired then-rehired city manager Josh Pinheiro, the departure of dozens of city employees who have resigned or retired, a vote of no confidence from all five of the city’s employee unions, and then an unprecedented city council decision to require a unanimous vote to remove the city manager.
Such acts gave rise to the recall election in November to remove Jones and Begonia. Llanez, Lambert and Lewis were already scheduled to be on the ballot. It could mean an entirely new council will be seated next year.
To fight the recall, Jones produced videos accusing Hostetler of abandoning his responsibilities to create a usable intersection at Vineyard Drive and Mercey Springs Road and to provide landscaping around neighborhoods he developed.
In response, Hostetler has been coming to city council meetings and last Wednesday leveled a few accusations of his own.
“Jones, you made a statement that was untrue a couple of meetings ago; you should have known better. I asked my staff to pull up the development agreements, and I have them here,” said Hostetler.
He said that starting in 1998, the city collected $675 per house to build a connecting road on Vineyard Drive.
“Over 3,000 homes have been built over there since then, and what has the city done? You said I didn’t (build the intersection) and I ‘dumped it on the city.’ But that was untrue. I said that was lie and it still stands as a lie.”
Then Hostetler demanded, “Where is the money? Those people have lived there since 1998 with no connection to the freeway.
“The public should have a right to see these things,” said Hostetler. Keeping the public in the dark, he said, “it’s bad business.”
NOTES – Others who spoke during the public comments section included John Cates, who applauded capital projects such as the animal shelter, while criticizing media outlets for what he called inaccurate reporting. Norma Blackwood raised concerns over the lack of accessible parking downtown. She said her brother, a Vietnam veteran, struggled with parking and urged the council to address the issue. …
The city council unanimously adopted a revised budget for engineering expenditures related to the Cresthills Park Extension. The council will allocate $446,294 from the Villa Park Impact Fee Fund for the project, which primarily focused on completing the parking lot at Cresthills Park, located near Pioneer and Gus Villalta Drive. The contract for the park’s completion had been signed in 2018, but the city did not receive the invoice until June 2023. After five years, staff had to review and confirm the charges. …
Councilmember Lewis urged the city to prepare for potential lane closures on Highway 152 due to a San Luis Reservoir dam project and called for urgent repairs at Colorado Park, including fixing hazards and outdated facilities. …
The Merced County Association of Governments provided an update on the county’s bus program, which offers free rides to college students and veterans and might not begin charging fares until October. An app is available for scheduling rides. …
The council voted to send councilmembers Jones and Begonia to the 2024 League of California Cities Annual Conference and Expo, Oct. 16-18, in Long Beach. …
Mayor Llanez recognized Vidya Srinivas and AINAK, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing glasses to children. Llanez said AINAK and Srinivas have helped more than 300 Central Valley students receive free eye exams and glasses, including 279 from Los Banos. Llanez said Srinivas worked with Rotary and other clubs to expand access to vision care for children who might otherwise go without.

The Westside Express