1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 15, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Danny Alvarez, Fire Chief
BY: Christine Alles, Fire Administrator
SUBJECT: Approval of the Verdugo Fire Co mmunications Service Agreement Between the Cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena and the City of San Gabriel for Dispatching of Emergency Fire and Medical Response
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Verdugo Fire Communications Service Agreement Between the Cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena and the City of San Gabriel (Attachment 1) and Authorize the City Manager, or His Desi gnee, to Execute t he Agreement and any Amendments.
BACKGROUND
The Verdugo Fire Communications Center (V FCC) provides dispatch services for emergency fire and medical calls. The Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena Fire Departments are “owner” agencies that cont ribute to funding the annual operation of VFCC, as well as making annual contributions to the capital equipment replacement fund.
VFCC’s annual operation is also supported through contracting dispatching services with eleven other agencies for a set fee. The el even agencies include Alhambra, Arcadia, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, San G abriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, West Covina, and the Hollywood Bu rbank Airport. Providing dispatching services on a contract basis supplies revenue for VFCC’s operations and enables better coordination and response to large emergenc ies involving mutual aid for Area “C” agencies like the City of Burbank. VFCC has been providing dispatch services for San Gabriel continuously since 2000 and the San Gabriel Fire Department has expressed a desire to continue this business relationship with VFCC.
DISCUSSION
The City of San Gabriel seeks to continue c ontracting dispatch services with VFCC for emergency fire and medical calls via approv al of the attached Service Agreement (Attachment 1), which would be effective for three years with an automatic renewal for
FIRE DEPARTMENT
2 two additional terms of three years each, unle ss one party provides notice of intent to terminate according to the terms of t he agreement. The San Gabriel City Council approved the Service Agreement on September 17, 2024. The continued participation of contract agencies like San Gabriel in the Verdugo system will continue to significantly enhance service to the public and help provide necessary revenue to keep VFCC among the finest dispatching operations in the country.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indire ct physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Finance directors of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena, with the agreement of their Fire Chiefs and City Managers, have established a policy of charging a flat rate per year for all contract cities that is based upon th e annual operational cost of VFCC. The total annual fee is based upon an agency’s dispatched incident volume, which is inclusive of responses where the agency provided mutual aid outside the Verdugo system.
Based upon the formula within the Servic e Agreement, for Fiscal Year 2024-25 San Gabriel will pay $84.18 for each dispatched incident in its city and for certain mutual aid incidents outside the Verdugo S ystem. Thereafter, the per incident charge may be increased each fiscal year by an amount not to exceed 5%, based on anticipated increases in VFCC’s operating costs. With an estimated call volume of 2,722 incidents per year, the City of San Gabr iel is projected to pay approx imately $229,138 in the first year of the contract. All fees are paid to, and administered by, the City of Glendale as the coordinating agency for VFCC. No additional f unding is required by the City of Burbank, and as such, there will be no fiscal impact on the Burbank Fire Department’s operating budget.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends Council a pprove the Verdugo Fire Communications Service Agreement with the City of San Gabriel to continue to contra ct dispatching services for emergency fire and medical services.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Verdugo Fire Communications Service Agreement between the Cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena and the City of San Gabriel