DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Analysis October 2021 October 2021
MANAGEMENT/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSESSMENT
Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach Fire Departments
Encinitas, CA
Prepared by:
FITCH & ASSOCIATES, LLC
2901 Williamsburg Terrace #G Platte City Missouri 64079 816.431.2600 www.fitchassoc.com
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page i © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEL MAR, ENCINITAS and SOLANA BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENTS
Management/Administrative Assessment
Executive Summary____________________________________________________________________________ 1 Specific Recommendations ____________________________________________________________________ 1 Strategic Recommendations ___________________________________________________________________ 2 BACKGROUND ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Exhibit 1 ‐ Cost Allocation by Agency for FY 2020‐2021____________________________________________ 4 PROJECT SCOPE _______________________________________________________________________________ 7 PROJECT APPROACH _________________________________________________________________________ 7 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ____________________________________________________________ 8 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ___________________________________________________________________ 8 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ________________________________________________________________ 12 STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS ______________________________________________________________ 21 APPENDIX A: FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 1 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Analysis October 2021 Executive Summary
Fitch and Associates, LLC (FITCH) was retained by the Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach Fire Departments in August 2019 to develop a Standards of Cover document and a management/administrative assessment. The FITCH Team came on‐site in January 2020 to initiate several in‐person meetings and interviews with Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach employees related to the two projects.
FITCH used a variety of techniques in completing this analysis including one‐on‐one, phone and virtual interviews, as well as document review, comparable agency research and financial analysis. In total, FITCH conducted approximately seventeen (17) interviews with executive staff members, senior managers, office staff, representatives from the various fire department labor associations, a city manager, and the Fire Chief.
At the conclusion of the analysis, FITCH made eleven (11) recommendations for improving efficiency and effectiveness/or reducing risk to the combined agencies through the cooperative fire management services arrangement. All recommendations were subcategorized as either a Specific Recommendation or a Strategic Recommendation. In this report, Specific Recommendations are projects or efforts with a narrow and objectively measurable outcome with usually a shorter implementation period. Strategic Recommendations are considered broader in nature, with outcomes that are more difficult to quantify fully but generally considered to result in a positive impact on the organization over time.
Specific Recommendations
Recommendation #1:
Emergency Preparedness Program – Provide program‐level span of control assistance to the Senior Management Analyst or hire an Emergency Management specialist for all three cities
Recommendation #2:
Provide program‐level span of control assistance to the Administrative Battalion Chief Recommendation #3:
Provide program‐level span of control to the Deputy Fire Chief Recommendation #4:
Refine the Fire Prevention Inspection Program
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 2 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Recommendation #5:
Conduct an assessment of the agency’s culture in regard to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the workplace
Recommendation #6:
Develop an expanded/more efficient internal communication strategy from the Fire Chief’s office
Recommendation #7:
Develop a Community‐Driven Strategic Plan
Strategic Recommendations
Recommendation #8:
Explore Accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) Recommendation #9:
Implement strategies to standardize administrative processes between the three agencies
Recommendation #10:
Explore the use of fire prevention inspection fees to encourage efficiency in enforcement and financial sustainability for the program Recommendation #11:
Explore the feasibility of assigning all DMR and SOL fire apparatus repairs and maintenance to the ENC repair facility
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 3 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021
BACKGROUND
DMR, ENC, SOL FD is a full‐service fire and rescue department serving the cities of Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach. These services include fire protection, emergency response, medical aid, fire prevention, disaster preparedness, search and rescue, and community education. Lifeguard services for the City of Encinitas are also managed by the fire department. Lifeguard services for the cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach are not under fire department control and are managed as separate departments within those two cities.
All three cities are beach communities in the northwestern corner of San Diego County, California. They are adjacent to the cities of Carlsbad, San Diego, and the community of Rancho Santa Fe.
DMR, ENC, SOL FD has 101 full‐time employees and five divisions: Fire Operations and Support Services, Fire Administration, Loss Prevention and Planning (Fire Prevention), Disaster Preparedness, and Marine Safety Services (for Encinitas). The Department operates six fire stations in Encinitas, one fire station in Del Mar, and one fire station (two crews on duty) in Solana Beach. The executive management team is responsible for overseeing the combined jurisdiction of approximately 25 square miles, with nine companies from eightfire stations and protecting a population of approximately 80,000.
Since October 2009, the City of Encinitas has operated under a cooperative fire management services agreement and shares the cost and services of seniorfire management personnel with the Cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach. Encinitas provides operational oversightfor emergency services in Solana Beach and Del Mar, including day‐to‐day management of fire department operations, training, support services, disaster preparedness, and fire prevention support. The cooperative fire management services agreement is updated periodically with the most recent amendment signed in July 2019. The three agencies are considered in their totality for this report and hereto referred generically as Department or Agency.
The financial contribution between the three cities is comprised of a complex formula that is calculated annually. Fees are the sum of total actual costs of salaries and benefits for all personnel providing shared fire management services. Apportionment is calculated using the following formula:10% equally shared, 20% by population, 20% by area served, 20% by the number of annual calls for service, 30% by the number of fire suppression personnel. Administrative costs and cost allocations from other departments are also factored in the percentage allocation.
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 4 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Exhibit 1 ‐ Cost Allocation by Agency for FY 2020‐2021
The DMR, ENC, SOL FD’s administrative staff consists of six (6) chief officers, one (1) fire marshal, and four (4) administrative support positions with additional EMS support provided through the county EMS transport provider (AMR). The Fire Chief is the Department Head for all three agencies and coordinates with the city manager of each respective city, although the city manager for the City of Encinitas has final supervisory authority over the Fire Chief. The cooperative fire management services agreement is governed by two (2) council members from each agency, and the three (3) city managers.
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 5 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Figure 1 – Organizational Chart
The DMR, ENC, SOL FD has some interest in possibly pursuing fire service accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI); but for now, they are primarily focused on the underlying practices associated with the accreditation process that includes self‐assessment, data analysis, the establishment of service level goals and the other 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 6 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 processes necessary to ensure the agency maintains a system of constant monitoring and continuous improvement.
One of the more complex aspects of the process is the establishment of service‐level goals for deployment and emergency response. This information, once analyzed and approved by the governing body orthe city managers, is typically referred to as a Standards of Cover(SOC).
In August 2019, the DMR, ENC, SOL FD contracted with FITCH to guide them in the development of their Standards of Cover document as well as a Management/Administrative Assessment.
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 7 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021
PROJECT SCOPE
FITCH conducted a Management/Administrative Assessment of the DMR, ENC, SOL FD that resulted in eleven (11) recommendations for improving efficiency and effectiveness/or reducing risk to the combined agencies through the cooperative fire management services arrangement. All recommendations were subcategorized as either a Specific Recommendation or a Strategic Recommendation. In this report, Specific Recommendations are projects or efforts with a narrow and objectively measurable outcome and usually a shorter implementation period. Strategic Recommendations are considered broader in nature, with outcomes that are more difficult to quantify fully but generally considered to result in a positive impact on the organization over time.
PROJECT APPROACH
FITCH used a variety of techniques in completing this study including one‐on‐one interviews while onsite, virtual interviews, and document reviews. In total, FITCH conducted seventeen (17) individual interviews (both in‐person and virtually) with executive staff members, senior managers, office staff, representatives from the various fire department labor associations, a city manager, and the Fire Chief.
The purpose of the interviews was to gather information on each position within DMR, ENC, SOL FD administration, their duties, the ratio of workload within and outside of their job description, and to determine areas of responsibility where employees are not able to meet all assignments. Additional open‐ended questions were used to solicitideas for and including, (but are not limited to) revenue enhancements, expenditure controls, process efficiencies, and other opportunities and or constraints for improving the efficiency within their job assignments.
Examples of Questions:
What percentage of your total work time is spent on duties outside of your job description? (Acknowledging to the employee that every organization needs employees to work somewhat outside the lines from time to time)
Of the percentage of time spent on duties outside of your job description, what type of work are you responsible for and who do you report to for clarification, if needed? What projects or work assignments are not getting done and what are contributing factors, if any?
What work assignments, if any, are beyond your skill set? What improvements would you implement if you could?
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 8 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021
ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
Without conducting extensive time‐motion studies for each administrative position, the assumption is made that each employee is making an honest and best estimate when answering interview questions regarding their workloads, job challenges, and improvement ideas. The scope of work for this project is limited to the management/administrative functions within the DMR, ENC, SOL FD; however, a major component of analyzing the administrative functions required us to explore the budget (revenues and expenditures) as a whole, which has implications into other areas possibly outside the originally intended scope.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Even though the DMR, ENC, SOL FD has responsibility for over 100 employees (with the majority of employees working a 56‐hour/3 platoon shift system), the culture is “family‐like” with everyone knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the organization as a whole.
Administrative staff seems to maintain a “can‐do” attitude even when faced with a complex and growing workload. Working outside of their job description is not unusual and there is a sense of ownership in each project they take on. This provides the organization with the ability to be highly flexible and adaptable. The administrative staff highly respects the Fire Chief and the overall vision but fear letting the chief down, so they put in many extra hours beyond what is expected.
Because of the cooperative services arrangement, DMR, ENC, SOL FD is tasked with taking the lead role in all the day‐to‐day responsibilities as well as many regional activities such as communications, mutual aid coordination, training, special teams, etc. The main overarching theme from almost every respondent was the time‐consuming nature of coordinating three different agencies that still maintain many of their respective, yet different, methods of conducting business. For example, to make a mid‐ to large‐value purchase, accept a grant, repair a fire apparatus, repair a fire station, etc., it might take three separate processes to complete. Even though there have been great strides made towards improving standardization,the nuances between the three cities lowers the quantity of work employees are able to provide in a given period of time.
Another aspect of this theme is the tenuous balance between a few key employees and the functionality of the organization. The current structure of fire administration is fairly typical of a California municipal fire agency, however, due to the additional workload of coordinating three different cities, the administrative support structure, in particular the number of chief fire officers, is 30% below the comparable agency average. The DMR, ENC, SOL FD has six (6) chief officers whereas the list of comparable agencies has an average of nine (9). (Compare Figure 1 and Table 1) This is notto say that additional civilian support staff is not a viable option 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 9 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 to address many of the non‐operational needs of the agency, however, in smaller agencies there is a balance between lower cost civilian positions and the need to cover operational needs (command of large‐scale events, coverage for chiefs on leave, etc.), whereas the use of chief officers usually provides the much‐needed flexibility for both administrative and operational needs.
The DMR, ENC, SOL FD makes highly efficient use of the chief officers and civilian staff assigned to fire administration, but this appears to be accomplished due to the highly dedicated staff in a few key positions. Key staff members report they routinely commit 55 to 65 hours per week in order to accomplish the highest priority assignments and still report feeling bad that many of the other lower‐priority assignments are not getting done properly.
This is a testament to the quality of employees and culture within fire administration, however, these factors also put the agency in a very precarious position. Just like the operational assessment within the standards of cover, this analysis includes a review of the balance between efficiency and resiliency. The more efficient an agency becomes, the less resilient it will be in overcoming surges in service demand, large‐scale incidents and other crisis events. Fire administration must maintain a similar balance in terms of completing critical work assignments with sufficient attention to detail to avoid liability or adverse consequences yet have sufficient time to be proactive and creative in problem‐solving so as to limit or mitigate the risk from the start. Administratively speaking, in short, if the Deputy Fire Chief, the Administrative Battalion Chief, or the Senior Management Analyst positions were to suffer a long‐term absence (illness, retirement, etc.) the DMR, ENC, SOL FD would be in serious peril in terms of the completion of time‐sensitive essential functions.
A review of comparable fire agencies demonstrates a more well‐balanced span of control in the various administrative functional areas for agencies with complexities similar to that of DMR, ENC, SOL FD and its cooperative services agreements. (See Appendix A and Table 2) Comparable agencies were identified and analyzed by using the following criteria:
Has a similar administrative “cooperative services” arrangement with adjacent jurisdictions (similar administrative complexity)
Provides similar services (fire, EMS, fire prevention, hazardous material response, technical rescue, etc.)
Similar built‐out environment (primarily residential and light commercial) Preferably near the coast
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 10 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Table 1 – List of Comparable Fire Agencies
Population Protected
General Fund Operating Budget
Calls for Service
Per Capita Expenditure
Full Time Employees
Minimum Daily Staffing
Chief Officers
ISO Rating (1 is best)
# of Fire Stations
Peer Agency
Central Fire District of
Santa Cruz County (Aptos,
Capitola, La Selva Beach
Live Oak, Rio Del Mar,
Soquel)
90,000 $35,401,300 8,072 $393.35 120 23 9 2 7
North County Fire
Authority (Brisbane, Daly
City, Pacifica)
185,000 $39,918,200 10,996 $215.77 105 26 11 3 8
Brea/Fullerton Fire Depts. 182,500 $40,176,700 20,000 $220.15 125 39 8 2 10 Heartland Fire & Rescue (El
Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon
Grove)
186,000 $42,900,000 22,000 $230.65 144 31 8 1 8
San Mateo Consolidated
(Belmont, Foster City, San
Mateo)
165,400 $43,895,500 12,800 $265.39 154 39 9 2 9
Peer Agency Average 161,780 $40,458,340 14,774 $265.06 130 32 9 2 8 Del Mar, Encinitas
and Solana Beach Fire
Depts.
80,500 $23,277,7001 10,200 $289.16 1012 27 6 23 8
1 ENC budget, including Cooperative Services revenue ‐ minus ENC marine safety program 2 Includes 6 FTE’s from ENC marine safety program not counted in budget but used here to denote the additional administrative workload required to supervise the program and staff 3 City of Solana Beach is ISO Class 1 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 11 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Table 2 List of Comparable Fire Agencies and their Administrative Positions
Chief Officer Dedicated to Training
Training Captain(s)
Chief Officer Dedicated to
Administration
Member Dedicated to Logistics
Chief Officer Dedicated to
Operations
Chief Officer Dedicated to
Prevention/CRR
Member Dedicated to Emergency
Management
Peer Agency
Brea/Fullerton Fire Depts. 1 0 0.54 1 1 0.5 1
Central Fire District of Santa
Cruz County (Aptos, Capitola,
La Selva Beach Live Oak, Rio
Del Mar, Soquel)
1 2 1 1 1 1 1
Heartland Fire & Rescue (El
Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove) 1 0 0.95 1 1 1 16
North County Fire Authority
(Brisbane, Daly City, Pacifica) 1 2 1 1 1 1 0.5
San Mateo Consolidated
(Belmont, Foster City, San
Mateo)
27 0 1 18 1 1 1
Peer Agency Average 1.2 0.8 0.9 1 1 0.9 0.9
Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana
Beach Fire Depts. 0.89 0 0.710 0 0.5 1 0.0111
4 Deputy Chief of Admin and Prevention 5 Division Chief of Admin and EMS 6 Data provided by DMR, ENC, SOL FD staff. Three of the 11 cities share one emergency manager through the cooperative services agreement with Heartland Fire & Rescue 7 Shares large training staff between the three agencies 8 Civilian facilities and fleet manager 9 Admin Battalion Chief spends 80% of time on Training Program and 20% on Admin 10 Deputy Fire Chief spends 50% of time on Admin and 50% on Operations 11 Senior Management Analyst spends less than 1% of time on Emergency Management 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 12 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 The Fire Chief has a long‐term vision of what the organization needs to accomplish in terms of remaining viable and effective. This vision includes validating objective measurement of services levels, maintaining a standards of cover document, exploring efficiencies through this management/administrative analysis, strengthening the reputation of the DMR, ENC, SOL FD with its contract cities, and exploring fire service accreditation.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation #1:
Emergency Preparedness Program – Provide program‐level span of control assistance to the Senior Management Analyst or hire an Emergency Management specialist for all three cities.
The DMR, ENC, SOL FD is responsible for providing Emergency Management program coordination for the City of Encinitas as well as for the cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach under the cooperative services agreement. Emergency management/preparedness is an important program for jurisdictions to ensure minimum requirements are met. There are a number of reasons, especially for Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach; 1. Southern California has a long history of significant, large‐scale disasters, both natural and human‐caused; so, readiness is critical. 2. Lack of proper planning can create an ineffective response to an event when it happens, delaying critical assistance. 3. Agencies that cannot demonstrate compliance with minimum requirements for their emergency preparedness program can be subject to lower reimbursement from state and federal disaster assistance programs, which could result in the loss of millions of dollars depending on the scope and duration of events, or the loss of grant funding opportunities for mitigation efforts.
Currently, the emergency management program is coordinated by the Senior Management Analyst, a non‐safety position designated to assist the Fire Chief with general coordination of the administrative functions of the agency. The Senior Management Analyst reports that she is challenged to complete all her day‐to‐day assignments due to the need to ensure all assignments comply with various requirements of the three respective cities under the cooperative services agreement, i.e., many assignments must be done three times, three different ways, reviewed by three city managers and three city attorneys. The Senior Management Analyst also reports that she routinely works over 40 hours per week to maintain her current workload yet feels like she is letting the organization down by not being able to properly address her emergency management responsibilities. Due to the size and complexity of the emergency management program, it must be systematically set aside for higher priority assignments. This is typically not a problem if this is an occasional occurrence, 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 13 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 but the Senior Management Analyst reports she can barely dedicate any hours to the program, so the program is significantly behind schedule.
The Senior Management Analyst also reports that emergency management is a complex assignment that, to do it correctly, probably needs 10 to 20 hours per week of attention between the high‐level administrative responsibilities, such as; developing and maintaining the Emergency Operations Plan, Continuity of Operations plan, the Multi‐Hazard Mitigation Plans, conducting tabletop and full‐scale exercises, coordinating with other local and county‐ level emergency management programs; and the lower‐level program needs, such as maintaining the agency’s Emergency Operations Center and its technological/logistical needs.
The agency’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program also falls under emergency management but is primarily coordinated by the Administrative Battalion Chief.
An analysis of 18 cities within San Diego County reveals 11 cities have full‐time/dedicated emergency managers12, and a review of comparable fire agencies shows the majority employ a dedicated person to their emergency management programs (See Table 2). Therefore, it is recommended the DMR, ENC, SOL FD consider hiring a full‐time emergency manager that could be shared between the three cities, similar to other agencies within San Diego County and throughout California.
Alternative options include reassigning the Emergency Management program to another internal employee that may have the administrative capacity to handle the program and hire a part‐time civilian coordinator to help with the workload. There is, however, usually additional costs associated with the training of an internal employee not already well‐versed in emergency management, especially if they are classified as a “safety employee” due to the higher wage and benefit costs.
Recommendation #2:
Provide program‐level span of control assistance to the Administrative Battalion Chief The Administrative Battalion Chief has a very broad array of responsibilities including coordinating all operational related training, agency logistical support, new fire apparatus design, safety program, wellness program, recruitment, promotional testing, new‐hire academy training, coordination of the Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT), operational battalion duty coverage at times, as well as various other duties in support of fire
12 Data provided by DMR, ENC, SOL FD staff. Three of the 11 cities share one emergency manager through the cooperative services agreement with Heartland Fire & Rescue 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 14 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 administration. The Administrative Battalion Chief reports that he spends more than 80 percent of his time with the training program alone, with the rest of the time spread amongst the other list of duties. The Administrative Battalion Chief has no direct report subordinates but relies heavily on delegation to the operational staff or outsourcing to complete assignments. Assistance from the operational staff is subject to their willingness to assume additional projects and assignments. When there is no “volunteer” available, the Administrative Battalion Chief might be required to be “hands‐on” with any of these assignments. The Administrative Battalion Chief also reports that he routinely works an average of 60 to 65 hours per week to maintain his current workload yet feels like he is letting the organization down by not being able to address all areas of responsibilities with a proper level of quality.
A review of comparable agencies shows the majority employ dedicated personnel to administrative, logistical, operational, prevention, training and emergency management programs (See Table 2).
It is recommended the DMR, ENC, SOL FD provide some program‐level span of control assistance to the Administrative Battalion Chief. A few suggested solutions include hire/assign a civilian logistics manager or assign a full‐time training officer (Captain) to work under the Administrative Battalion Chief. The Administrative Battalion Chief has distinct skill sets in the area of new fire apparatus design so it would not be recommended to reassign this particular function until a suitable replacement could be found and properly trained/experienced.
Recommendation #3:
Provide program‐level span of control to the Deputy Fire Chief The Deputy Fire Chief has a very broad array of responsibilities including; coordinating the operations division (this include the majority of DMR, ENC, SOL FD staffing), budget, human resources, risk management, emergency medical (shared with private ambulance service representative), and facility/apparatus maintenance programs, emergency management (shared with the Senior Management Analyst), operational area coordination, assisting the fire chief with multiple weekly and monthly meetings between the respective staffs of the three cooperating cities, operational battalion duty coverage attimes, as well as various other duties in support of fire administration. The Deputy Fire Chief has three direct reports (shift battalion chiefs) but, as second‐in‐command underthe fire chief, has authority over all aspects of the Department (See Figure 1) The Deputy Fire Chief also reports that he routinely works an average of 65 to 70 hours per week to maintain his current workload yet feels like he is 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 15 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 letting the organization down by not being able to address all areas of responsibilities with a proper level of quality.
An analysis of program and division level positions in comparable agencies (See Table 2)reveal the average staffing level of 6.7 positions (chief officers or program managers, excluding fire chief) to carry out the complex responsibilities of blended organizations similar to that of DMR, ENC and SOL. In comparison, ENC is attempting to accomplish the same work with essentially only 3 positions (1 Deputy Fire Chief, 1 Administrative Battalion Chief and 1 Senior Management Analyst).
As opposed to Specific Recommendations 1 and 2 regarding separating program responsibilities from the employees to help them with their workload, there is a benefit to having the Deputy Fire Chief oversee a broad array of program areas so as to ensure they are all in alignment with the overall agency mission and outcomes. The key distinction is to keep program oversight as broad as possible but provide delegation and assistance within the program areas. As an example, the Deputy Fire Chief might be tied up for many hours coordinating facility maintenance contracts, in triplicate. The same must be done for budget, grants, HR, and other administrative duties.
Due to the complexity of the shared services arrangement between the three agencies, it is recommended the agency consider adding a second Deputy Fire Chief position and separate organizational responsibilities between Operations and Administrations. This will provide some program‐level span of controlrelief and better align the agency for succession planning.
Alternative solutions include enacting a number of recommendations related to the Administrative Battalion Chief (See Recommendation #2), elevate the Administrative Battalion Chief to assist with more of the duties assigned to the Deputy Fire Chief, and either hire/assign a civilian logistics manager or assign a full‐time training officer (Captain) to work under the Administrative Battalion Chief.
Recommendation #4:
Refine the Fire Prevention Inspection Program
The current staffing levels within the fire prevention bureau are adequate and efficientforthe size and complexity of the jurisdiction, however, the fire prevention bureau still has a few challenges. The main challenge falls underthe category of standardization between the three cities; a common theme throughout this report. The DMR, ENC, SOL FD has made great strides in standardizing many processes within the bureau, such as aligning fire codes and 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 16 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 their adoption cycle (currently the 2018 International Fire Code and 2019 California Fire Code), they have transitioned to a 100% electronic plan review system, aligned master fee schedules, etc. However, the bureau still has several facets of the program that are not yet aligned, such as; street and electric gate standards, how follow‐up code enforcement is carried out, some fire prevention staff members are dedicated to working solely within their “home” jurisdiction so there is limited flexibility in balancing workload between the three respective cities. These challenges hinder the ability of the bureau to carry out its mission effectively.
The recommended “refinement” of the fire prevention program essentially falls in two key areas. 1. Continue to seek standardization of codes, processes, systems, and practices (see Strategic Recommendation 9). 2. Refine the annual occupancy inspection process to better align resources to mitigation of risk to the communities served with the current staffing configuration.
Currently, the fire prevention bureau’s goal is to inspect 100% of “inspectable occupancies” annually. Due to the challenges mentioned prior, the bureau is capable of inspecting 100% of the California State Fire Marshal’s Office – mandated occupancies13, however, it is only able to inspect about 90% of the other occupancies within the three cities. This 10% gap is not currently triaged, so a high‐risk occupancy has the same chance of missing an annual inspection as a low‐risk occupancy. A missing inspection, in this case, is not necessarily completely missed, as it might be picked up within weeks or months of its planned inspection cycle, but the risk can be significantly different between a high‐risk and a low‐risk occupancy experiencing a delay in receiving a fire/life safety inspection. Therefore, it is recommended the fire prevention bureau assess all their inspectable occupancies, classify them into three categories and adopt the following sample criteria for inspection cycles:
Inspect 100% of high‐risk occupancies annually (California mandated occupancies, plus i.e., any building with a commercialfire protection system, assemblies, large or multi‐story commercial, industrial, etc.)
Inspect 100% of medium‐risk occupancies every two years (i.e., medium office buildings, strip malls, etc.)
Inspect 100% of low‐risk occupancies every three years (small office buildings, stand‐alone businesses, drive‐thru kiosks, etc.)
The proposal of these new inspection categories and cycles is to ensure that the highest risk occupancies are inspected annually and to avoid any “gaps” in the program since the lower risk occupancies are still inspected but at an interval that is within the capabilities of the
13 California Health & Safety Code – 13145 & 13146
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 17 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 current staffing configuration of the bureau yet does not put the jurisdictions at any unreasonable risk. The proposed inspection categories are just an example. The fire prevention bureau can assess the risk of the different types of occupancies within the jurisdiction and modify as needed to provide the highest level of mitigation commensurate with staffing, capabilities, and community expectations.
Recommendation #5:
Conduct an assessment of the agency’s culture in regard to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the workplace
There are many areas of the budget where substantial funding is being spent but the money has a nexus to an outcome. For example, fair pay and benefits might help attract and retain good employees, and those employees provide a service that results in a positive outcome for the community (rapid response, lower insurance rates, high cardiac survival rate, low urban blight, etc.). However, a few areas of risk create a tremendous draw on the budget with little to no value to the community, examples include but are not limited to: instances of bad employee behavior, investigations, discipline, grievances, lawsuits, and injury. An example of the legal exposure related to these examples can be illustrated with a few interesting facts.
In 2019, there was 27 career firefighter line‐of‐duty deaths in the U.S.14; however, there were literally hundreds of agencies thrust into litigation due to employee behaviors, unprofessional interactions, and/or lack of meaningful preventative training.15 In terms of cost to the agencies involved, it is difficult to fully measure the impacts, but a key indicator is the comparison between firefighter line‐of‐duty deaths and instances of firefighter malfeasance. The trend for firefighter line‐of‐duty deaths has stayed fairly steady over the past decade but impacts due to firefighter malfeasance and subsequent litigation continues to grow at an alarming rate. When we look at the amount of funding that fire agencies dedicate to firefighter training for operational hazards, then compare that to the funding dedicated to shielding the agency from a multi‐million‐dollar legal challenge (usually caused by a disconnect between the agency’s policies and a culture of indifference within the workplace) we see the disproportionate funding and the unfortunate results that follow.
The assessment of the Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach Fire Departments did not reveal any explicit or above‐average problem in the area of culture. In fact, fire administration has probably addressed this better than most agencies as they have invested in agency‐wide
14 U.S. Fire Administration – Career firefighter fatalities for 2019 15 Career Survival Group – www.careersurvivalgroup.com 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 18 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 training above and beyond the traditional default method of assigning online computer‐based training to meet the bare minimum of requirements. However, the best practice today is to assess the culture so that blind spots can be revealed and addressed over time. There are some recognized benchmark measurements that can be incorporated as objective measurements for this type of program. They are usually incorporated into the strategic planning process (See Specific Recommendation 7) to ensure transparency and accountability. The bottom line is the process is designed to ensure ongoing public trust.
Itis,therefore,recommended the DMR, ENC, SOL FD conduct an assessment ofthe workplace culture in regard to diversity, equity and inclusivity. Such assessments can be completed by any number of subject matter experts that specialize in this field. Typical assessments for any agency similar to DMR, ENC, SOL FD might cost between $10,000 and $20,000. Findings can be directed by and to the agency’s legal representative to ensure confidentiality. The Fire Chief and administrative staff can then use the findings to refine their training and other resources to address the areas of concern over time, thus reducing the risk of litigation to the agency and the contract cities. This strategy can also be valuable in demonstrating to the employees, elected officials, and the community‐at‐large the DMR, ENC, SOL FD is taking actionable steps to ensure the workplace culture is open and fair to all.
Recommendation #6:
Develop an expanded/more efficient internal communication strategy from the Fire Chief’s office
A lack of meaningful communication within the organization is a common issue brought up by various respondents, but also one of the most commonly cited problems in almost every organization. It is not unique to the DMR, ENC, SOL FD but is nonetheless an area that can be improved with a healthy return on investment once implemented. It is a basic function of human nature to want to know the future and employees will carry this expectation into the workplace. The Fire Chief and the Deputy Fire Chief carry the most influence and weight because they provide information that has not been filtered through multiple layers of the organization, and there is a perception they have a greater level of accountability for the accuracy of the information provided (no plausible deniability).
However, communication can also be one of the biggest consumers of time for the chiefs when they take time to "make the rounds" to each station/crew/shift, craft memos, or send out email updates. However, there is likely no better system in place than face‐to‐face interaction, so the best answer seems to be a balance between the different systems of 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 19 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 communication to leverage as much information as possible without overtaxing the chief officers.
The chiefs already make a concerted effort to get "face time" with the crews. The process can now be followed up with the expanded use of the agency’s current video conferencing system (Zoom). One of the positive aspects of the recent pandemic is most people are now very well versed in video conferencing and is now more widely accepted.
Therefore, it is recommended the Fire Chief and/or Deputy Fire Chief provide a video update to the organization on a scheduled basis. This would replace some, but not all, of the time and effort put into station rounds, thus leveraging some additional time back to the chiefs.
Many agencies use this format for getting critical information out quickly while also providing a method to get feedback from the crews so the information can be further refined to ensure the message is clear for everyone.
The key is to provide a steady source of reliable information on potentially the hottest topics in a timely manner. This will stifle rumors and produce an increased level of trust due to the extra transparency. This must be all be done with the recognition that the consumers of the information will never stop consuming, and the Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief need to be spending time on strategic matters, as well, to keep the organization safe.
Recommendation #7:
Develop a Community‐Driven Strategic Plan
The most progressive fire agencies have several things in common, one of them is the use of strategic planning to make sure current activities and resource allocations are all done in alignment with longer‐term goals and objectives. The DMR, ENC, SOL FD is among one of the more professional and progressive fire agencies in the nation as it has chosen to develop a standards of cover, it’s asking for a third‐party review of its administrative programs, and its exploring fire service accreditation; however, an updated strategic plan is one of the core elements of a professional and progressive fire agency that is still pending.
The best practice is to develop a select group of community stakeholders to help provide inputinto the strategic planning process from the perspective ofthe customer. To emphasize the importance of this strategy to the fire service as a whole, the United States Fire Administration has recently adopted a “people‐centered” focus as the first step in their 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 20 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 decision‐making16 model, which means the industry is embracing its responsibility to ask the customerfirst before they determine any levels of service they may be assuming the customer wants.
Granted, the council form of local government provides a level of citizen oversight, but with only a select few councilmembers, their capacity to gain meaningful feedback may not truly reflect that of the community‐at‐large. Councilmembers are also trying to balance many different city priorities and might not always be able to dedicate the time to participate in an in‐depth exploration of the agency’s capabilities and needs. One solution that has gained considerable credibility in local government oversite of their public safety functions is the use of community stakeholders to fill the gap.
The community stakeholder group should include a number of major segments of the community including representatives from various demographic groups, business leaders, influential citizens, perhaps a member of the media, homeowner groups, etc. This group should be ideally ten (10) to twenty (20) representatives of the community; a number that is not too large to coordinate but large enough to provide a broad array of feedback from the customer’s perspective.
The community stakeholder group should be able to commit the time necessary to complete the whole process that could be as little as one day or several multi‐hour sessions over several days. Some sessions could be in a classroom, or even virtual, and consist of presentations and some workshop activities. Other sessions could include field trips to see agency facilities and equipment, meet firefighters in their work environments, and perhaps even some carefully supervised hands‐on activities allowing for experiencing first‐hand some of the challenges faced by firefighters.
Ideally, the coordination of the citizen stakeholder group activities would include the members ofthe agency’s strategic planning group (fire administration, various members from the rank and file, as well as labor). The goal is to educate the community stakeholders to a degree higher than the average citizen so they can make informed decisions. Then, through a facilitated process, the stakeholders would provide feedback on the levels of service they want, the scope of services valued, what items are most important to them, what items are least important to them, etc.
16 U.S. Fire Administration – Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2019‐2023 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 21 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Strategic plans that are developed without customer input put agencies in danger of losing touch with what the end‐user wants, which could have negative political ramifications later on. This recommendation provides the critical elements to the strategic planning process, along with a few additional side benefits. 1. The agency will have a group of strong advocates educating their friends and family on their inside‐view of their fire agency. 2. The agency will have a model process to screen issues from a customer’s perspective to ensure they are maintaining public trust. 3. The process can be designed in such a way as to comply with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International if the agency decides to pursue fire service accreditation (see Strategic Recommendation 8).
The fire administrative staff currently utilize a “Divisional Task List” to track assignments. The list does not necessarily reflect the priority of the task but is a simple and effective method of tracking a project and the date it is due to be completed. Aligning the use of the divisional task list along with the priorities derived from the strategic planning process might not increase the completion rate of tasks but should improve the return on investment in terms of outcomes that are of the most value to the community and the efficiency of the staff.
An additional benefit of completing a strategic plan is the advantage it would provide fire administrative staff in developing annual reports. The basis of the strategic plan is to determine the outcomes the community desires. Once outcome measurements are established, the agency can more succinctly report performance the community desires and in a way they can better understand. The agency’s annual reports contain very important information but can be somewhat confusing to the average citizen as to what it all means to them. Community‐driven strategic plans can answer the following questions with 5 to 7 simple graphs or charts:
How likely is my life, or the lives of my family, going to be saved? How much of my property will be saved (value, capabilities, can my business still operate, etc.)?
What will be my quality of life after an event (or if the event is prevented)? How much is it going to cost me to support, or don’t support, the fire department recommended strategies?
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation #8:
Explore Accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 22 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 The modern fire service continues to see a growing sense of scrutiny for how it uses the resources it receives from the community. Efficiency and transparency will be the driving forces over the next decade. The Fire Chief is aware of this and has expressed his interest in pursuing Accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
The CFAI process was originally developed in the early 1990s as a joint effort between the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International City/County Managers Association (ICMA). The IAFC's and ICMA's purpose was to develop a system by which fire agencies could be evaluated using a standard set of criteria common to all fire agencies. Since then, the partnership has extended to the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Department of Defense.
The process starts with self‐assessment17, whereby the agency looks at all its internal processes and procedures to make sure they are meeting community expectations (11 categories with 250 performance indicators). Then the system is evaluated using peer‐ assessors (on a five‐year cycle) to verify and validate the agency’s performance. The process is modeled after other accreditation processes such as that for hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and educational institutions.
There were a few issues of concern brought up by various members of the agency during the interviews that did not necessarily meet the scope of this study. However, the accreditation process, if pursued, would be a process that will continually look at all areas of concern and make sure they are addressed systematically, following best practices as generally adopted by a joint International City/County Managers Association, International Association of Fire Fighters and the International Association of Fire Chiefs panel of commissioners. It is universally recognized by all these professional associations that every organization has “blind spots”, and the successful ones will develop a system to routinely look into all areas to ensure they are making incremental improvements. However, it is important to note that many ofthe improvement processes outline by the accreditation process does not necessarily require the agency to achieve recognition through the accreditation governing body (CFAI).
For all intents and purposes, the DMR, ENC, SOL FD can follow the best practices and implement them internally without full recognition of the commission. The main reason for an agency seeking recognition is to give the community it serves proof from a 3rd party perspective that their best interests are being prioritized within the agency.
17 Fire and Emergency Service Self‐Assessment Manual, 9th Ed. – Center for Public Safety Excellence 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 23 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Therefore, it is recommended the DMR, ENC, SOL FD explore accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. Once the DMR, ENC, SOL FD understands the key components to the process, a decision can be made in terms of how much of the model they wish to follow and assess the potential return on investment.
Recommendation #9:
Implement strategies to standardize administrative processes between the three agencies
Just as it was described in the background section and within the various recommendations, navigating the diverse administrative processes between the three cities is highly time‐ consuming, especially under the current administrative staffing configuration. It should be recognized thatitis unlikely to align all processes, procedures, codes, standards, and practices but a concerted effort to align as much as possible will leverage additional time and provide a measurable return on investment where the agency can be successful. The balance should be between efficiency and resiliency. The current configuration might have value in terms of cost efficiency for DMR and SOL but may not in terms of overall efficiency, nor resiliency for all three communities. This recommendation would dovetail nicely into Specific Recommendation 7 – Develop a Community‐Driven Strategic Plan. An updated strategic plan would include an analysis of items that can be aligned and prioritized accordingly into the agency’s Divisional Task List.
Examples of items identified by staff that would benefit the agency if aligned:
Purchasing procedures
Supply ordering
Apparatus design and standardization
Facilities repair and maintenance
Code enforcement follow‐up processes
Gate access standards
Street width standards
Agenda report standardization
Routing of agreements, agenda reports, etc.
Recommendation #10:
Explore the use of fire prevention inspection fees to encourage efficiency in enforcement and financial sustainability for the program 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 24 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 The fire prevention bureau’s primary mission is to enforce the jurisdictional fire and life safety codes. Many communities lose sight that fire and life safety codes are laws and not just best practices or guidelines. As such, it is often challenging for all fire prevention programs to balance the rule of law with the unique needs and accommodations of the local community.
Added to this, because most fire prevention programs generate different types of revenue from sources such as plan check fees, development impact fees, community facility district fees, inspection fees, inspection fines, etc., they are often pressured to bring in sufficient revenue to be cost‐neutral. However, anytime new fees are proposed, there is the chance of experiencing resistance from the community since they might see it as the fire prevention codes are being overly enforced to ensure a sufficient amount of revenue is generated.
The best practice is to design and adopt an inspection program that encourages safety compliance over revenue so that fees (or fines) are only implemented when the property owner refuses to comply and unnecessarily draws fire prevention resources away from other priority activities. In short, fees or fines are only used to incentivize compliance with the law, however, fines and fees should be sufficiently high enough to adequately cover the cost of engaging in drawn‐out compliance cases, so the program is essentially funded by the non‐ compliant versus the compliant property owner. The benefit of this type of inspection methodology is it incentivizes compliance so that staffing levels can remain as low and efficient as possible.
A proposed inspection process might adopt the following methodology:
2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 25 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 Figure 2 – Sample Inspection Process Flow Chart
The use of any fees should be established using a recognized methodology to ensure compliance with California state law18 and that fines are commensurate with the increased level of risk the property owner is imposing on the rest of the community. The three cities currently have adopted masterfee schedules that are routinely validated by a 3rd party. Future master fee schedule updates could incorporate this programming into its validation process.
It is also important to note that considerable investment should be made in community outreach before such a process is proposed to the respective governing bodies. There are many fire agencies in California with similar models, but most would also recommend a methodical approach to avoid unnecessary community misunderstandings.
Recommendation #11:
Explore the feasibility of assigning all DMR and SOL fire apparatus repairs and maintenance to the ENC repair facility
A review of the current fire apparatus repair and maintenance program stands out as a markedly time‐consuming process for administrative staff to coordinate and potentially inefficient in terms of cost to the cooperating cities of DMR and SOL. Depending on the apparatus, nature of the problem, or time of day, there might be four different points of contact to get the unit repaired. Then, depending on the estimated cost of the repair for a
18 California Government Code: Title 5, Chapter 54985‐54988 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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DMR, ENC, SOL Fire Departments Page 26 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Management/Administrative Assessment October 2021 DMR or SOL fire apparatus repair, the administrative staff need to coordinate with various staff members from the respective city to approve the expense. In addition, the preventative maintenance schedule is considerably different between the three cities. Over time, units receiving less preventative maintenance will naturally require more extensive repairs and longer “out of service” time.
A preliminary review of the ENC fleet maintenance program appears to be a viable solution.
The ENC fleet maintenance program already handles 70% of the combined fleet, has a robust preventative maintenance program that limits apparatus “out of service” times, is well‐ experienced in how to schedule preventative maintenance and routine repairs around field‐ level operational and training needs, and has a labor rate approximately 50% lower than the private vendors ($48 per hour versus $108 or $118). Additional analysis would need to be done to ensure the enhanced preventative maintenance routine would not exceed the anticipated savings, however, the unified coordination by the ENC fleet maintenance division alone could provide substantial time savings for the administrative staff that would need to be allocated a value in the analysis.
Therefore, it is recommended the agency explore the feasibility of assigning all DMR and SOL fire apparatus repairs and maintenance to the ENC repair facility. The analysis should include, but not be limited to, the various hourly labor rates, the transport cost for apparatus that cannot be repaired while at a fire station, the administrative staff time needed to coordinate repairs, the value of standardization of repairs, parts, use of the resource pool, and the amount of “out of service” time.
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City of Fort Myers Beach, FL Page 19 © Fitch & Associates, LLC Standards of Cover Study 29 March 2018
APPENDIX A
Functional
Responsibility
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Functional Responsibilities
Updated September 21, 2021
Fire Chief Directors’ meetings
Council meetings Governance Board North Zone Fire Chiefs County Chiefs Supervises Deputy Chief Fire Prevention Supervisor Marine Safety Supervisor Administrative Services
Division
Deputy Chief
Operations
Budgeting (3 agencies) Personnel (HR, Risk) Facilities Maintenance Apparatus Maintenance Equipment Maintenance CSA-17 Operations Zone OPs Chiefs liaison Battalion Chiefs Supervisor Career Development Promotional Testing (Administration)
Recruitment, Testing and Hiring
(Administration)
EMS/Paramedic Coordinator Swift Water Incident PIO Administrative Battalion
Chief
Training and Coordination
Promotional Testing (Operations) New Hire exams New Hire Academy Coord. Training scheduling North Zone Training Group North Zone Operations secondary Apparatus specs/design Safety/Wellness Emergency Preparedness CERT Training Battalion Chief
A-Division
CICCS
FMZ Coordinator Pre-Fire Plans and IAP's Mapping/GIS Hazardous Materials Coordinator Uniform Committee Chair Battalion Chief
B-Division
RCS and VHF Radios
MDCs CAD/Response plans/Premise Hist. Station Alerting North Zone Communications Group North Zone Technical User Group Battalion Chief
C-Division
Telestaff Policy/Procedures RMS/CFIRS/NFIRS Tableau CERT Coordinator Pagers Knox B/C’s - ALL SHIFTS Emergency Response
Shift Supervisor Morning Briefing Operational Readiness of stations/daily activities
Communicate daily activities with
each station
Operations Chief/Duty Chief and
disseminate critical information as needed
Meet with company officers in
each station to explain new orders, answer any questions, discuss policies and procedures; ensure proper awareness of new standards Relay and receive information,
deliver interdepartmental mail if emergent
Assist the Operation Chief
with Company Officers' evaluations
Assist Company Officers with
counseling and coaching of subordinates when there is a performance or personnel problem if necessary Participate in training activities
and observes companies as they participate in drills
Preliminary investigations and/or
citizen complaints
Analyzes information gained and
handles when appropriate; or formulates report and passes through chain of command Keeps records and reviews RMS
reports per developed program
Participate in agency
scheduled Captains’ meetings when on duty
Participate in agency scheduled
shift or staff meeting
Attend/present at council and
commissions meetings
Incident analysis Telestaff Payroll
EMS Services Division
EMS Coordinator
LEMSIS EMT/PM licensing Continuing Education AED/Defibrillators EMS equipment Controlled Drugs CSA-17 Vaccinations Infection Control QA/QI Marine Safety Division Marine Safety Captain
Liaison to City Offices Liaison to Fire Chief Attend Council Meetings Public Safety Commission Rep State Park Collab Mtgs. Rep SDRALERT, CMSCA,
CLSA/USLA
Operations Budgeting Personnel (HR, Risk) Liaison Supervisor Lt/Sgt’s JG Program Oversight Code Enforcement Supervisor Career Development Promotional Testing Recruit, Hiring, Contracts Special Permits Review Marine Safety PIO Fire Prevention Division
Fire Marshal
Code Enforcement Plan Review Inspection Permitting Fire Protection Planning Public Information Officer Code/Law Review Weed Abatement Wildfire Planning and Mitigation Company Inspections Planning/Traffic Commission Support
Public Education Fire Investigations
Management Services
Division
Senior Management Analyst
Budget Development
and Monitoring
Cost Recovery Grant Writing and
Administration
Data Analysis Policy Review and
Development
Agenda Reports Contracts and RFPs NIMS Compliance City Emergency Mgmt. and Mitigation Planning
UDC Alternate
Management Analyst
Budget Development &
Monitoring
Cost Recovery Grant Writing and
Administration
Data Analysis Policy Review and
Development
Agenda Reports Contracts and RFPs NIMS Compliance City Emergency Mgmt. and Mitigation Planning
UDC Alternate
Admin. Support Coordinator
Training/Certificate
Reimbursements
Travel Expense Claims Invoice/Purchase Order Processing Cal Card Statements Office Supplies Annual Report Records Management Public Education Scheduling Updating Phone Lists 2025-06-11 Item #01 - Special Meeting
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141 September 22, 2025 Item 11
Del Mar and Solana Beach Reaffirm Their Commitment to Fire and Emergency Services Amid Organizational Transition
The City of Encinitas unanimously voted on June 11, 2025, to exit the Cooperative Management Agreement (COOP), under which Encinitas provides fire administration and management services to the cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach.
Established in 2009, the COOP consolidated fire executive leadership and administrative services under the Encinitas Fire Department to promote regional coordination and operational efficiency across the three coastal cities.
As discussed by their Council, the Encinitas decision was largely driven by the increasing and evolving needs of the Encinitas community, making it no longer feasible for their City to provide fire management services to its partner communities.
As a next step, Del Mar and Solana Beach will undertake a process to explore other options for fire management services and will work with the Encinitas City Manager and Fire Chief over the coming months to develop a smooth transition plan that ensures continuity of fire operations and response for all of the communities involved.
The cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach are committed to maintaining exceptional fire and emergency response services for their residents and prioritizing and supporting their fire professionals as each City determines the best fire management structure for their respective communities moving forward.
It is anticipated that the Fire Governance Committee, made up of Council and management representatives from each of the three cities, will play an important role in facilitating this process. The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for June 18, 2025, at 9 a.m. at Encinitas City Hall, to discuss the next steps. 142 September 22, 2025 Item 11