MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
FIRE COUNCIL OF THE CENTRAL MARIN FIRE AUTHORITY
250 DOHERTY DRIVE, LARKSPUR, CA 94939
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024
AT 6:30P.M.
Or upon conclusion of the CMPA Police Council meeting, whichever is later.
The Central Marin Fire Council will meet in person. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person,
How to submit public comment remotely:
1. Email [email protected] prior to 4:00PM on the day of the meeting or during the meeting (Comments received prior to that time on the day of the meeting will be distributed to the Fire Council and made available in the online agenda packet).
2. Attending the meeting in-person at the Central Marin Police Authority Community Room, 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939.
1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL
The Regular Meeting of the Fire Council of the Central Marin Fire Authority (CMFA) was called to order at 7:27PM by Authority Clerk Lorena Barrera.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Rosa Thomas, Council Member, Town of Corte Madera
Fred Casissa, Council Member, Town of Corte Madera (Alternate) Scot Candell, Council Member, City of Larkspur
Stephanie Andre, Council Member, City of Larkspur (Alternate) COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:
None
STAFF PRESENT:
Ruben Martin, Fire Chief
Adam Wolff, Corte Madera Town Manager
Dan Schwarz, Larkspur City Manager
Tom Bertrand, Authority Counsel
Ezra Coleman, Battalion Chief
Lorena Barrera, Authority Clerk
2. ELECTION OF CHAIR PRO TEM
Fire Authority Clerk Lorena Barrera conducted an election for a Chair Pro Tem to preside over the meeting as the Chair and Vice Chair were not able to preside over the meeting.
August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
2 Council Member Casissa nominated Scot Candell to serve as Chair Pro Tem. Candell accepted the nomination.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to appoint Candell as Chair Pro Tem.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
Authority Clerk Barrera turned the meeting over to Chair Pro Tem Candell.
3. OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the item for public comment.
No public comments were received from attendees or via email on this item.
Candell closed public comment and moved on to the next item.
4. PRESENTATIONS: None
5. REPORTS AND COMMENTS
A. COUNCIL MEMBERS
Council Member Casissa thanked the Fire staff for participating in National Night out and he spoke on his experience in a recent ride-along he participated in.
B. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
No reports were provided.
C. CHIEF’S COMMENTS
No report was provided.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
Chair Pro Tem Candell asked if there were public comments or requests from Council or the public for removal of items from the Consent Calendar.
There were no comments received from online attendees and no comments received by email, and no requests were received from the Council or the public to remove items from the Consent Calendar.
August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
3 Candell then called for a vote on the Consent Calendar.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to approve Consent Calendar items 6A - 6D.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
The approved Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
A. Approve Minutes of May 9, 2024 Regular Fire Council Meeting B. Approve Minutes of June 13, 2024 Regular Fire Council Meeting C. Accept Report on Estimated Actuals for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 D. Acknowledge and File Accounts Payable Checks, Accounts Payable Checks, April 28, 2024 to July 31, 2024, transfers to Payroll Account, April 28 through July 31, 2024, and electronic payments to CalPERS
7. BUSINESS ITEMS
A. Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/06 Authorizing the Management Committee to Enter into a Memorandum of Understanding Between the Central Marin Fire Authority and the Central Marin Firefighters’ Association/IAFF Local 1775
Fire Chief Ruben Martin presented the item. He thanked all of the parties involved in the negotiations process. He provided some background on the efforts and stated that they worked on a contract that was fair and equitable for the group. He explained some of the cost of living adjustments and benefit and pay changes that were explained in the staff report.
Regarding the fiscal changes, he added that the adopted budget for fiscal year 2024/2025, approved by the Fire Council on May 9, 2024, assumed a 3.5% increase to the salary schedule for all employees of Central Marin Fire Authority, and also included a $100,000 contingency because collective bargaining was still in progress during that time.
Based on the proposed salary increases being presented to the Fire Council today, the Fire Authority will need to expend approximately $332,000 more than the amount included in the Adopted Budget for all of the fire units. This will result in additional member contributions of $166,000 per member for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. A budget revision will be presented to the Fire Council at the next Fire Council meeting in November 2024.
Council Member Casissa asked if these increases put the agency in alignment with other fire departments in Marin. Chief Martin stated that the changes bring the agency closer August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
4 to being at the average level.
Chair Pro Tem Candell asked if the Managers had any concerns about the financial burden that this contract places on the two agencies. Larkspur City Manager Dan Schwarz responded that these changes didn’t add any additional concern from the concerns he has about the operation of his city as a whole. He added that the agreements are consistent with the goals of making the agency competitive and robust at an appropriate level. Corte Madera Town Manager Adam Wolff agreed.
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
Candell closed public comment. Following further deliberation, Candell called for a motion.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to adopt Resolution No. 2024/06.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
B. Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/07 Authorizing the Management Committee to Execute Amendments to the Salaries and Benefits for Members of the Fire Management Unit for the Period of July 1, 2024 Through June 30, 2027
Corte Madera Town Manager Adam Wolff introduced the item and presented the staff report. He added that the agreement provides for a 6% salary increase to the salary schedule effective the first pay period in July 2024, a 4% increase to the salary schedule effective the first full pay period in July 2025 and a 4% increase to the salary schedule effective the first full pay period in July 2026.
The proposed resolution includes an equity adjustment for the Fire Chief of 5%; an increase to the employer contribution for healthcare/medical benefits; maximum of an additional 4% longevity pay; increase in eligible employer paid holidays; and a health and wellness reimbursement program.
Fire Chief Ruben Martin added that when this item was first published, an error was determined in the fiscal impact section of the report and staff sent out an amendment regarding that error. The total impact for the item is $91,143 with $32,026 coming from the Measure C Fund.
Council Member Andre asked about the two vacant positions and whether there are plans to fill those. Chief Martin explained that he held the position of Fire Marshal previously and when the previous Fire Chief retired, he stepped into the Fire Chief role while continuing to where the hat of the Fire Marshal. That was also during the time of the pandemic and not knowing where the agency was going to go a Fire Inspector was hired August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
5 to assist with some of the work. Additionally, the Deputy Chief retired and there wasn’t anyone who was ready to fill the role and therefore, some organizational changes were made merging the Deputy Chief with an Administrative Battalion Chief to give the agency some options. At this time, there are no plans to fill the position and if he ever thought there was a need to do so in the future, he would be going to the Management Committee to discuss that before bringing the request to Council. City Manager Dan Schwarz added that the Management Committee retains the authority to fill the positions and there is no intention to fill the vacant positions at this time. Andre also asked if the agency is funding the positions and Chief Martin responded no.
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
Candell closed public comment. Following further deliberation, Candell called for a motion.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to adopt Resolution No. 2024/07.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
C. Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/08 Authorizing the Management Committee to Execute Amendments to the Salary and Benefits for the Position of Fire Inspector/Investigator for the Period of July 1, 2024 Through June 30, 2027
Fire Chief Ruben Martin introduced the item and presented the staff report. He added that in February of 2021, the Fire Council for the Fire Authority approved the creation of the Fire Inspector/Investigator position, which directly tied the salary range for the position to the Engineer(s) salary range and it is the desire of the Management Committee to continue to tie the Fire Inspector position salary range to that of the Fire Engineer position salary range. He went over some of the changes and explained that when the position was first created, there was no benefit allowing overtime pay for the position as it was a new position, and it was not expected. However, there is a need for overtime pay as the work demands it and therefore, the new agreement includes language to allow for overtime pay for extra hours worked rather than making the employee flex time to compensate for those hours.
There were no questions from Council on this item.
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
Candell closed public comment. Following further deliberation, Candell called for a motion.
August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
6 MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to adopt Resolution No. 2024/08.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
D. Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/09 Authorizing the Management Committee to Execute Amendments to the Salary and Benefits for the Position of Administrative Assistant for the Period of July 1, 2024 Through June 30, 2027
Fire Chief Ruben Martin introduced the item and presented the staff report. He added that in 2022, the Fire Council adopted a resolution that established a salary and benefits for the Administrative Assistant and changed the employer of record from the Town of Corte Madera to the Central Marin Fire Authority. When the Fire Council took that action, the changes to the position also maintained and honored the same existing salary and benefits that were agreed upon while being represented by the Town of Corte Madera miscellaneous employees. In the new agreement for the position, the effort to maintain and honor the same benefits were continued and for that reason, CMFA waited for the Town of corte Madera to conduct and agreement with its miscellaneous employees so that the same changes could be offered to the person in the Administrative Assistant position.
There were no questions from Council on this item.
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
Candell closed public comment. Following further deliberation, Candell called for a motion.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to adopt Resolution No. 2024/09.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
E. Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/10 Approving a Publicly Available Pay Schedule as Required by CalPERS
Fire Chief Ruben Martin introduced the item and presented the staff report. He explained what positions are included in the list and added that this is a requirement by CalPERS.
There were no questions from Council on this item.
Chair Pro Tem Candell opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
August 8, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
7 Candell closed public comment. Candell called for a motion.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Thomas) to adopt Resolution No. 2024/10.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Pro Tem Candell adjourned the Council Meeting at 7:57PM to the next regular meeting scheduled for November 14, 2024.