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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/12/19 - Minutes - SpecialDecember 19, 2007 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY/FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING A. CALL TO ORDER A special meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council/Redevelopment Agency/Fire Protection District was held on Wednesday, December 19, 2007, in the Council Chambers at City Hall located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Mayor/Chairman/President Donald J. Kurth, M.D. called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. Present were Councilmembers/Agencymembers/Boardmembers: Rex Gutierrez; L. Dennis Michael, Sam Spagnolo, Mayor Pro TemNice ChairmanNice President Diane Williams (arrived at 3:34 p.m.), and Mayor/Chairman/President Donald J. Kurth. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director; Pamela Easter, Assistant City Manager; Fabian Villenas, Principal Management Analyst; James Markman, City Attorney/Legal Counsel; John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services; Charles Scott, Sr. Information Services Specialist; Mike Toy, Information Services Specialist I; Chief Peter Bryan, Deputy Chief Mike Bell, Deputy Chief Mark Hartwig, Management Analyst II Pam Pane, Breanna Medina, Management Analyst II-Emergency Preparedness, EMS Administrator Stephanie Rasmussen; Captain Cheryl Roberts, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District; Kathryn L. Scott, Assistant City Clerk; and Debra J. Adams, City Clerk/Assistant Secretary/Secretary. B. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS B1. Gary Lacy stated he received 63 emails today from people that wondered why this is being held at 3:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m. He stated he is the Executive Director of CHECK and a resident of the City. He felt the discussion to take place is long overdue and needed. He referred to comments made at the December 5th meeting where staff of the Fire District stated the calls they go out on are sometimes not the most efficient. He felt the present Fire Department system is failing the public trust. He felt the fire fighters' six figure salaries and benefits were inappropriate. He did not feel government is being run efficiently. C. ITEM(S) OF BUSINESS C1. REVIEW OF OCTOBER 17 2007 C.H.E.C.K. PRESENTATION The item was introduced by Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, stating the Council/Agency/Fire Board had asked staff to come back with this report. He stated John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, will be presenting the City's response to the CHECK report. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, presented a power point presentation, which is on file in the City Clerk's office. Special City Council/Redevelopment Agency/Fire Protection District Meeting December 19, 2007 Page 2 Mayor Pro TemNice Chairman/Vice President Williams arrived at 3:34 p.m. during the presentation being given by Mr. Gillison. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked Mr. Gillison if he felt the current system was absolutely perfect. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, stated ii is not absolutely perfect, but that it is working. Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, stated other models have been looked at, but the City feels this model is the best for Rancho Cucamonga. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked if there are any urban or suburban cities that are comparable to our City that are using something other than the 24 hour shift. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, stated with the urban agencies that they looked at, the majority of them were using the 24 hour shift model. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael stated Mt. Baldy, which is rural, has an all volunteer fire department. He asked what the cost would be for 33 additional people if they went to an 8 hour shift model. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, stated it is several million dollars. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael asked if FLSA applies to public and private sector. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, stated yes and explained how this system works. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael mentioned Scoitsdale's EMS program. Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, explained that Scottsdale has grown to almost 240,000 population, and as a result there has been an increase in the level of service. He stated in 2005 Rural Metro EMS services dumped Scottsdale because of problems in their organization, and could not provide the service for the same amount of money they had agreed upon. He stated now Scottsdale is on a 24 hour shift model with salaries comparable to Rancho Cucamonga. Pam Easter, Assistant City Manager, stated Scottsdale has also used the paid call program in the 90's, but has now discontinued this program. Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, stated Scottsdale has a four minute response time 80% of the time, and is in the process of building five more fire stations. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked what are good intent calls. Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, showed a slide and explained this from the slide. He stated good intent are calls that turn out not to be a fire, and are not a full alarm assignment, but it was first believed to be a full emergency. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael shared an experience when his home flooded several years ago. He stated the Fire Department helped him extract the water, but if they had had a real emergency, they would have gone out on that. He stated their goal is helping the public during their time of need. He stated it is not just the Fire Department that helps with these types of call, that at times Public Works staff will help a resident if they need it. He felt everyone in the City, no matter which department, can assist our citizens when in need. Special City Council/Redevelopment Agency/Fire Protection District Council Meeting December 19, 2007 Page 3 Mayor Pro Tem/Vice Chairman/Vice President Williams felt a kid locked in a car is an emergency, but if someone locks their keys in the car without a kid inside that this is not an emergency. She felt a more defined triage system would help with prioritizing these types of calls. She felt our resources should be available for emergencies, and not some of these other types of calls. Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, stated he agreed with Agencymember/Boardmember/Councilmember Williams that their goal is to protect life and property. He asked Mike Bell, Deputy Chief, to talk about stopping the escalation. Mike Bell, Deputy Chief, stated the Fire Department does not get called out for someone that locks their keys in the car unless there is an emergency associated with it. He stated some times they get calls when people smell smoke, but do not see it. The fire fighters go out on those calls and try to determine where the smell is coming from. He stated it is a good thing we don't have many fires in the City. He stated they try to get to a small fire before it escalates. Mark Hartwig, Deputy Chief, talked about emergency health calls and the work they do with the hospitals to save lives. Mayor Pro TemNice Chairman/Vice President Williams asked why she can't get the information on the incidents that occur. She stated she would like a report from each station with information about the types of incidents that occur. Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, stated they would be happy to provide this information on a quarterly basis instead of an annual basis which is now being done. Mayor Pro TemNice ChairmanNice President Williams stated the citizens do not like to see the big trucks out when the firemen go to dinner. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Spagnolo stated he felt ii would be great to get more information on the types of calls the Fire Department is responding to. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked how much it would cost for the additional 33 people if they went on 8 hour shifts. John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services, stated it would be between $1 - $3 million. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael stated he did his own estimate and thought it would be at least $3 million, and felt we should run the department with the most efficiency. He felt call screening would definitely increase efficiency. Mayor/Chairman/President Kurth felt the City should be run the most efficiently so that all needs are met throughout the City with a better balance. Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, stated they need to remember there are two different budgets and that you can't use Fire District funds for Police Officers. He stated the Fire District does not receive a subsidy from the City's general fund. He stated any pass through from the RDA budget is from an old agreement, and added it is the Fire District's money. He stated the City does pay for fire plan checkers, but if the City didn't pay for this it would have to be contracted out. He stated again the City does not pay for any fire fighters. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked how much it cost for the Day Creek Station. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael stated about $4 million. He stated the land was owned by the Redevelopment Agency. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked if there are ways to eliminate some of the overtime and wondered if some agencies abuse this. Special City Council/Redevelopment Agency/Fire Protection District Meeting December 19, 2007 Page 4 Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, stated overtime is managed by administration when there is a need, and added he cannot speak for other agencies. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez asked if there is a way to cut over time. Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, stated not unless the level of service is cut. He stated our administration provides the best level of service with as minimal of overtime as possible. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez stated he would like to know how much was spent on overtime in the last six years. Peter Bryan, Fire Chief, stated he would provide this information. Jack Lam, City Manager/Executive Director, stated this is not to say any department is perfect, and felt there is always ways to improve. He stated we are always trying to do this. He felt we shouldn't be talking about "their budget" or "our budget," that we are all here to provide service to the community. James Markman, City Attorney/Legal Counsel, stated the City could provide funds to the Fire District if the Council approved this policy, but added that the District cannot legally provide funds to the City. He also commented on the agreement between the Fire District and the Agency. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael stated budget time is the time to approve where the allocation of resources will go. He stated it is not fair to say we do not have oversight over fire resources, and added the Fire District is the only budget that has to have a public hearing to approve it. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Gutierrez stated we are here to have better service for the community. He stated he wouldn't suggest any changes in service unless it would improve service. He stated there is no intent of disbanding the Fire Department. He stated the Council is here to find the truth to do things better. He stated they do not want to hurt the service level. He stated it looks like the difference between the eight (8) and twenty-four (24) hour shifts is a dollars and cents issue. He was curious if a shorter shift would help to make the fire fighters sharper because they are not working such long hours. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Spagnolo stated the Council is responsible for public safety in the City and to provide the best service possible. He felt more statistical information would be beneficial to the Council. He felt presentations to them about what the Fire District is doing would be important. He talked about some of the water extraction calls he had been out on while he was a fire fighter. He stated these types of calls are what makes the Fire District great and that ii is important to people in the community. He stated it is all about public service, not just putting out fires. Councilmember/Agencymember/Boardmember Michael felt the way we are structured currently is the most effective way, which is using our fire fighters as paramedics also. He felt staff should be directed to provide the best possible service at the lowest cost; and that if costs can be reduced, then that should be done. He felt the information requested by Mayor Pro Tem/Agencymember/Boardmember Williams is a great suggestion. He thanked the staff for this presentation and that we should continue looking for efficient ways to serve the community. Mayor Pro Tem/AgencymemberNice President Williams stated she looks forward to new types of statistics which may lead to new topics of conversation. She felt all people see are the fire trucks going down the street to dinner, and felt we should highlight some of the good things we do. Mayor/Chairman/President Kurth thanked staff for the report. He stated our goal is to provide the best service to our citizens. He stated it is up to the Council to watch the spending of our funds. He felt we should look to see if there is a better and cheaper way of doing things. He stated he looks forward to hearing CHECKS response, and stated their figures submitted previously were right on. He stated he is concerned about the Governor declaring a fiscal emergency of our State. He felt everyone in the Fire District does a good job, but he just wants to make sure we are using our resources the best we can. Special City Council/Redevelopment Agency/Fire Protection District Council Meeting December 19, 2007 Page 5 D. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 5:23 p.m. Respectfully s mi~ted~, ~ _ ~~ ,, Debra J. Ada s MC City Clerk/Assistant Secretary/Secretary Approved: January 16, 2008