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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin 03-08-01 MINUTES OF THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL/ UKIAH VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS WORKSHOP SPECIAL MEETING Wednesday, March 8, 2001 The Ukiah City Council met at a Regular Meeting on March 8, 2001, the notice for which had been legally noticed and posted, at 4:00 p.m. at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 South School Street, Ukiah, California. Roll was taken and the following Councilmembers were present: Larson, Smith, Libby, Baldwin (arrived at 4:07 p.m.), and Mayor Ashiku. Staff present: Interim Fire Chief Grebil, City Manager Horsley, City Attorney Rapport, and City Clerk Ulvila. Ukiah Valley Fire District Board of Directors present: Robert McAdoo, Chris Rowney, and Butch Carpenter. Board of Directors absent: Robert Gattenberger and Jim -I'aglio. 2. NEW BUSINESS: Workshop Discussion of Fire Service JPA Proposal a. Introduction by Chief Dan Grebil Interim Fire Chief Dan Grebil explained that this is the first time the City Council and the Board Members have meet in joint session to discuss a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that would combine fire operations of the Ukiah Fire Department (Department) and the Ukiah Valley Fire District (District). At the City Council meeting in November 2000, he provided an overview of both departments and what the JPA organization might look like. At that Council meeting, staff was directed to meet with the City of Ukiah Firefighters Association (Association) to address some concerns from that meeting, and return to Council. A meeting took place with the subcommittee of the Association and they had two issues with that proposal. They wanted to maintain the minimum staff at the downtown station. The proposal at that time reduced the minimum staffing at that station, and they felt that even with a combined department, the workload would still be concentrated to the downtown area. Staff felt that this is a valid concern and the new proposal includes maintaining staff at the downtown station. Secondly, they felt that by combining of the two departments that District employees should not come in with their seniority, but rather at an entry level. At that time, staff was reminded that it wasn't the City taking over the District or visa versa, it was a combining of the two operations. Therefore, full time years of service should remain when combined with the two agencies. He reviewed the current Ukiah Fire Department organization, including volunteer personnel. He also discussed the Ukiah Valley Fire District organizational chart, noting that he has served as Fire Chief for the District for the past five years. He discussed the most recent revision of the JPA organizational chart and identified those positions that would be maintained and those that would be eliminated in order to maintain the minimum staffing. He reviewed the staffing of the City and the District by position, as well as the total for the proposed JPA staffing. Through attrition obtained through the two agencies, a total of five positions would be eliminated. He reviewed the approved budgets for 2000/2001 for both agencies, which show the City's budget of $375,259 and the District at $133,385. He discussed Agency Specific Costs and it was noted that these cost were pulled out of the JPA and identified them as agency specific, and should not be part of the Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 1 of 6 JPA budget. Items included were contractual services, debt service, north fuel tank expense, building maintenance, dispatch service, station rental, general insurance, County fees, West Hills VP, and capital improvements. He continued with a review of the JPA Budget, with the Agency Specific Costs deleted from the JPA. The proposed joint balance shows that, based on what each agency puts towards fire operations, the share would be 71.6%, $1,480,795, for City, and 28.4%, $590,820, for the District. The only savings projected is from personnel savings that is reflected in the personnel costs of $78,000 to the City and approximately $25,000 to the District. Since April of 2001, he has been working for both the City and the District. He cited personnel at the District and noted similar functions occurring at the City. He discussed reducing redundancy in positions and equipment. He cited benefits to consolidation of agencies, as noted in the Fire Department Handbook, that would be a beneficial alternative to enable improved use of scarce resources; flexibility of staff, equipment, and dollars; stronger internal programs; and increased opportunities to expand services or to specialize. It would also work to overcome political boundary issues, ensuring that the closest unit responds to an emergency, and creating more rationale of protection service areas and faster response times. Consolidation can provide for a reduced redundancy in specialized equipment. It can lower apparatus replacement requirements. Consolidation can reduce the number of reserve pieces of equipment. He noted that both agencies maintain a fleet to satisfy the Insurance Services office which rates fire departments and submits the information to insurance companies who determine the fire insurance component of property insurance. Currently each one of the departments maintains this equipment. Consolidation results in a new organization that places more resources on the fire ground, a vital interest in the fire protection environment. The proposed JPA proposes to maintain staffing at the downtown station, and the south station located at the corner of South State Street and Laws Avenue. It also adds a component for covering the northern portion of the City with an Amador Contract with the California Department of Forestry (CDF). He explained that an Amador Contract holds the permanent staff on an emergency response condition during the winter months. For approximately $30,000, we could have 24/7 days at the northern portion of the City by having two firefighters on duty during the winter months. The JPA proposal not only utilizes the fire department in the City, but combines all three of the fire protection agencies in the Ukiah Valley and would serve the citizens on a year round basis. b. Public Comment: Fire Fighter Groups, and Others in Audience c. Discussion: City Council and Ukiah Valley Fire District Board Ukiah Firefighters Association outgoing President and City of Ukiah Fire Captain Mark Hilliker distributed additional information to Council and the Board. He discussed the history of how the JPA was formed. Many months ago staff at the Department looked at the situation of many highly trained and skilled employees leaving the Department. After working on this for almost a year an ad-hoc committee report was generated. Upon reviewing the report and listening to the comments of the Association, he decided to take steps to resolve some of the upheaval. Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 2 of 6 He referred to his proposal, which takes the ad-hoc committee's report, point by point, and puts in additional information. The ad-hoc committee felt that in house training may improve but out of the area training would suffer somewhat. He pointed out that the majority of the most important training they receive, comes from outside the City. Secondly, the ad-hoc committee discussed making available another engine. He advised that another engine is already available through a mutual aid agreement with CDF and Ukiah Valley Fire District, so that when the City has a fire within the City limits, the CDF and the District would automatically respond. Those resources are available to the City without having a JPA. He noted that the current City operation of Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a big part of their mission. On the other hand, the District supports the private ambulance with an engine and personnel when required. He discussed billing for the ALS service. He felt that Council was supportive and wanted them to continue this service. He stated that the District does not have paramedics but has good firefighters. They do not meet the City's current standards for hiring because they are not paramedics, because that's what we hire now. He continued to discuss staff needed for fire prevention. He explained that they inspect approximately 1800 structures that they protect, and to add the burden of structures within the District to the City's current staff would create an overload. He discussed the Urban Search and Rescue Program that is essentially shared with the District and training is received. He stated that the seniority issue needs to be looked at closely. He explained that many of the City's fire personnel would be affected by the influx of the District personnel into a joint department. He felt the problem involves District personnel that are not trained at the same level as the City's personnel, and would supercede them in positions if lay offs become necessary. He stated that issues ranking near the top of the list for the Association should be seniority, career opportunities, and salary and salary increases. He noted that firefighters in the Ukiah community are still under paid for the services they provide, according to industry standards. He discussed loosing personnel to other cities due to salary. He discussed the financial evaluation for the JPA and noted that 73% would be paid by the City and did not feel the District should have a full half-vote since the City would be paying more. The Ukiah Firefighters Association supports the idea of a single fire department for the Ukiah Valley, however, the Association doesn't support this proposed for a Fire Department. Mayor Ashiku noted that it is clear from the document submitted by the Association that they feel it is a sound concept, and a number of concerns were raised in his letter. However, no solutions have been offered. Captain Hilliker advised that the Association would like to meet with the District Board, City, and committee, and personnel. He has not developed solutions to those problems, but the Association is willing to work with everyone concerned. He felt that a contract is the right thing to do, as originally proposed. He discussed the previous joint fire district and Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 3 of 6 problems that occurred. Councilmember Smith reinforced the idea that if an ad-hoc committee is expanded, they need to look at how a solution could be attained. It is important that the committee receive everyone's full cooperation in order to develop a satisfactory solution. Councilmember Larson explained that, in order to move forward, it is important that the best interest of the community be considered. Captain Hilliker advised that it is the goal of all firefighters to serve the best interests of the community. The Association is opposed to this JPA proposal; however, they are supportive of combining fire services and think it can be worked out. Discussion followed concerning the negotiating process and that compromise may need to be made. Prioritizing concerns for the committee were addressed. All parties involved were in agreement that it is important to consider the best interest of the entire Ukiah Valley. Ukiah Valley Fire District Board Member Chris Rowney noted that citizens of the District and personnel are aware of the situation when the fire agencies were combined and then separated. He explained that a lot of effort has already gone into resolving some issues of combining the agencies. Ukiah Valley Fire District Board Member Butch Carpenter addressed the issue of firefighters leaving the Ukiah area for higher salaries, and felt they would have left eventually, anyway. Ukiah Valley Fire District Secretary/'rreasurer Robert McAdoo advised that smaller cities find it difficult to match the tax base and salaries of larger cities. Mike Todd, incoming President of the City of Ukiah Firefighters Association and paramedic for the City, distributed another proposed JPA that addressed the salary issue for the Fire Chief position. He discussed savings to the City, and seniority issues for the District and City. He discussed budgeting problems and how their proposed JPA may be able to work better and benefit the citizens. Kevin Jennings, City of Ukiah Battalion Chief and President of the Ukiah Volunteer Firefighters Association, explained that several months ago, two committees were formed. Speaking on behalf of Ukiah Volunteer Firefighters, they are in favor of a JPA and have a draft policy for volunteers. The JPA will keep the interest of volunteers and provide more opportunities. They look forward to the joint effort. He will provide copies of the draft policy for volunteers to the ad-hoc committee. Discussion followed concerning the draft policy for volunteer firefighters. Mike Mayfield, Fire Captain for the Ukiah Valley Fire District volunteer firefighters and also Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 4 of 6 president of Mendo Mill and Lumber, discussed their draft proposal. He felt a JPA would benefit the community with quicker response times, enhanced activity and training, and the knowledge and capabilities of all firefighters. Dave Haas, President of the Ukiah Valley Fire District Volunteers Association, advised they are supportive of a JPA from a cost standpoint. They want to serve residents of the valley. It is important that all agencies work together and seniority is an important issue. He explained that they have seen vast improvements to their department since Chief Grebil has come on board. Jean Harmon, resident of the Ukiah Valley discussed personnel leaving Ukiah for higher wages. She stressed the need to eliminate politics from the fire departments and to concentrate efforts on serving the community. Al Beltrami, representing the Mendocino County Employers Council, stated the Employers Council has been supportive of a JPA and this workshop is a good start. The employers Council would like to see the City and County work together on this project. Bob Bender, volunteer firefighters with the Ukiah Valley Fire District for 11 years, expressed his interest in forming a JPA. He noted there are many good firefighters available in the District. Richard Reading, labor consultant for City of Ukiah Fire Department, and past president of the State Firefighters Association, discussed his capacity as a labor consultant. He discussed combining resources and the importance of identifying, in detail, the distribution of power. He was supportive of consolidation. Dean Hutton, City of Ukiah Fire Department Battallion Chief and EMS Coordinator, advised that he is one of the original members of the ad-hoc committee. He supports a JPA and felt the long term benefits to the City and District outweigh the problems currently encountered. If the JPA could include CDF, it would be a great benefit to the community. Mark Clark, City of Ukiah Fire Department Captain, and firefighter for 22 year, discussed when a JPA was first presented to the Association. He expressed the need to have 100% employee retention and felt a JPA will make retention worse. He continued to discuss the issue concerning loss of personnel. Morey McCloud, retired volunteer firefighter and current support to the City of Ukiah Fire Department volunteer firefighters, discussed his experiences when he was employed with A T & T, with regard to the salary issue. He noted that wages vary from city to city, depending on the size of the city. He stated that a small city, like Ukiah, couldn't expect to pay the same wages as larger cities. Discussion followed that identified those members of the previous ad-hoc committee that first reviewed option for a JPA. There was consensus that a committee needed to be formed consisting of two representatives for each group of: City Council, Ukiah Valley Fire Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 5 of 6 District, Ukiah Fire Association, District volunteer firefighters, and City of Ukiah volunteer fire fighters. 3. AUDIENCE COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS No one came forward to address Council. 4. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the City Council meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m. Marie Ulvila, City Clerk Special Meeting March 8, 2001 Page 6 of 6