AFFILIATE NEWS
Arcadia Firefighters Pass Measure A
New Revenue Stream for the City
Arcadia Firefighters Association, Local 3440 successfully passed Measure A this past June. The measure instituted a ¾ cent sales tax in the city and is projected to produce over $8 million in revenue annually to the city.
The new revenue stream was badly needed by the city of Arcadia, which was beginning to run a deficit projected to grow to $8 million in a few short years. Seeing the potential of layoffs and brown outs on the horizon, Local 3440 stepped into gear.
With a well-established Political Action Committee (PAC) fund and active union members, Local 3440 mounted an impressive campaign to increase revenue streams to the city with Measure A. They targeted likely voters, knocked on doors, sent mailers and set up a website. A majority of the members of Local 3440 volunteered which was vital to the success of the campaign.
“It was integral to have our members take an active role in this campaign," explained Arcadia Firefighters, Local 3440 President Brian Ursettie. “There was something for everyone to do, whether it was taking the lead on door knocking, running the PAC or messaging. Most members found a spot to give their time to and that made all the difference.”
Equally important was Arcadia Firefighters long standing relationships with city council, area labor unions and the local chamber of commerce. Each of those relationships allowed them to get endorsements for the measure, volunteers and funds to help run the campaign.
“We have a long tradition of being embedded in the community and developing relationships with our community partners,” said Ursettie. “Sometimes you’re not on the same side but it’s important to have those lines of communications open so you can work towards the same goals when it really counts, just like it did with Measure A.”
Thanks to Local 3440, Arcadia’s public safety services remains intact with the opportunity to grow as the city goes through a population boom.