Agenda Item No. 13
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: November 13, 2023 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Five Cities Fire Authority Policy and Operational Update
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on Five Cities Fire Authority policy and operational items in FY 2023-24 and provide input and comments to Council representatives and staff.
DISCUSSION
On June 12, 2023, the Council approved the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) agreement for an Amended and Restated Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) incorporating the cities of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach following the withdrawal of the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) and appointed Council Members Rushing and Weirick to serve as the Council’s representatives to the reconstituted FCFA Board. The Council also provided direction to its representatives to approve pending agreements with OCSD on temporary fire and emergency medical services for one year and ongoing obligations for CalPERS pension liabilities. The Arroyo Grande City Council subsequently approved these items on June 13. On June 22, the reconstituted FCFA Board met and took several actions including approving the OCSD agreements, the FCFA FY 2023-24 budget, and purchase of a replacement Type 1 engine and ladder truck. The Board selected Council Member Rushing to be Chair for FY 2023-24 and Arroyo Grande Council Member George to be Vice Chair. Given the Chair selection, City Manager Bronson was selected to serve as Chief Executive Officer for FCFA for FY 2023-24 consistent with the JPA agreement where the Chair and Chief Executive Officer are from the same city.
This staff report is intended to update the Council on FCFA policy and operational items to date during FY 2023-24. The FCFA Board has met twice during this time on August 21 and October 16 and Board agenda and materials are available on the FCFA website. This report covers the following items:
• Service Levels and Staffing
• Equipment Replacement and Purchase
• Oceano Fire Service
The following pages include a brief description of each item for the Council’s information. Staff will defer to the Council representatives to provide additional information.
Service Levels and Staffing
With the approval of the one-year agreement with OCSD to provide fire and emergency medical services and increases in partner agency funding, FCFA has been able to increase its staffing levels consistent with the Baker Tilly review of fire and emergency medical services needs in Staff Report: FCFA Policy and Operational Update Page 2 November 13, 2023
Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande. The staffing increases for FY 2023-24 included the addition of
1.0 FTE Battalion Chief position and 2.0 FTE Firefighter Engineer positions which enabled a 24x7 third company with 2-person staffing. Through consultation with the employee union Local 4403, FCFA opted to temporarily fill the shifts for the new Firefighter Engineer positions using existing personnel this year rather than hiring new employees given future uncertainty about Oceano fire service. If fire service was provided to Oceano on an ongoing basis beginning in FY 2024-25, then these new positions would be opened for recruitment and filled permanently. In addition to these new positions, both cities have added funding in their respective budgets to carry out additional contract fire prevention services though this is considered a temporary step until an inhouse fire prevention bureau can be established in the future.
With the new Battalion Chief position, FCFA opened a recruitment process in July and attracted a strong pool of applicants both locally and out of the area. An assessment was conducted in early September and both City Managers (serving as the Management Committee) subsequently interviewed finalists. On October 16, FCFA announced the hiring of Ryan Bird as the new Battalion Chief and conducted a badge pinning ceremony on November 9. Chief Bird was previously a Captain with the Fresno City Fire Department and started his career as a reserve firefighter with the Arroyo Grande Fire Department. Staff also acknowledges the recent departure of Battalion Chief Riki Heath who retired from FCFA on October 27 after 30 years of fire service experience. Chief Heath was one of the original members of the FCFA when it was formed in 2010. FCFA will begin a recruitment process this month to fill this vacant position in early 2024.
Additionally, on August 21 Chief Steve Lieberman announced his retirement from FCFA effective December 29. Chief Lieberman has served as fire chief for nine years and was instrumental in shaping FCFA into the modern, professional, and high-quality fire and emergency medical service agency it is today. The FCFA Management Committee engaged a recruitment firm to conduct a recruitment process which opened on October 20 and closes on November 17. Interviews will be conducted in early December with a selection anticipated by mid-December and a start date in January/February 2024. The FCFA Board approved Chief Lieberman to serve as Interim Chief as a retired annuitant through February following his retirement to ensure continuity before the new Chief begins.
Lastly, on October 16 the FCFA Board approved a new successor Memorandum of Understanding and Resolution with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4403 for the period of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2027. A similar Resolution was approved for unrepresented management employees. These Resolutions provided cost of living along with equity adjustments in employee compensation for FCFA positions to be more comparable to other agencies following a compensation study conducted earlier in the year by the City of Arroyo Grande. Funding for these adjustments has been budgeted in the FCFA operating budget.
Equipment Replacement and Purchase
As mentioned, on June 22 the FCFA Board approved the replacement of a Type I Engine and Ladder Truck. The Type I Engine to be replaced (E6691) reached the 15-year replacement cycle in 2022 and was originally purchased by the City of Arroyo Grande and transferred to FCFA in 2010. The existing Ladder Truck (T6645) is nearing the 15-year replacement cycle and has been plagued with recurring and costly mechanical problems and repairs.
Over the past year, FCFA convened an in-house working group to develop specifications for both vehicles with the replacement Type I Engine similar to the other engines (E6692 and E6693) with slight modifications. The replacement Ladder Truck will be based on a “tiller” design that requires operators both in the cab and at the back of the vehicle (the tiller operator). Advantages of this Staff Report: FCFA Policy and Operational Update Page 3 November 13, 2023
design include increased equipment storage, and specifically maneuverability, increased access to structures, and a faster speed of ladder deployment. The tiller design will eventually allow for the consolidation of two vehicles into one (T6645 and Rescue 6652) to avoid ordering a replacement rescue vehicle at over $1 million in the future.
The total cost of this replacement equipment is $3.7 million ($1.3 million for the Type I Engine and $2.4 million for the Ladder Truck) with a build time for both vehicles of approximately three years.
FCFA staff selected Pierce Manufacturing for this purchase and the Board subsequently approved a purchase agreement for the equipment. FCFA has typically negotiated 10-year lease-purchase agreements for fire vehicles and FCFA staff negotiated an option with Pierce Manufacturing to delay entering into this agreement until closer to the date of completion of the vehicles. This option would defer nearly $1 million in lease payments over the next three years with the expectation of lower interest rates in the future. During this time, existing lease payments for Engines 6692 and 6693 would end and result in cost savings returning to FCFA fund balance.
FCFA also took ownership of a new Type III Brush Engine in August where it was deployed into wildfire response outside of the area almost immediately. The previous 20-year-old existing Type III engine will be kept as a reserve. FCFA officially introduced the new Type III Engine to the community on November 9.
Oceano Fire Service
FCFA is currently in a one-year agreement with OCSD to provide fire and emergency medical services in Oceano through June 30, 2024. This limited term contract was provided in the interest of continuing FCFA’s service delivery in Oceano while OCSD’s application with the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) to divest the district from the responsibility of providing fire and emergency services was under review. This application was submitted in January 2023 with a decision by LAFCO expected in early 2024.
Below are the key terms of this limited term contract with OCSD:
• Term: 12 months to provide time for completion of the LAFCO divestiture process. • Cost: $1,150,000.
• Scope of Service: Fire and emergency response services, including the minimal fire prevention services currently provided by the FCFA.
• Location: Service provided from companies stationed at either Station 1 in Arroyo Grande or Station 2 in Grover Beach. Identified deficiencies at Station 3 in Oceano make continued use of this station by FCFA staff unadvisable at this time beyond use as a storage area.
OCSD’s payment of $1.15 million is significantly below the cost of this service, however OCSD was unable to fund fire service in FY 2023-24 beyond this amount. Both the Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach City Councils discussed this during the budget review process and expressed concern about this funding amount though ultimately provided direction to their respective representatives on the FCFA Board to approve the limited term contract for service. However, both Councils indicated that a potential contract with the County for providing ongoing service to Oceano would come at a higher cost more commensurate with the actual cost of this service.
Beginning in June, the FCFA Management Committee has worked with the County to provide information about the cost of ongoing service delivery to Oceano. The cost information provided to the County is based on the Baker Tilly review which estimated a cost of $2.15 million for ongoing service to Oceano using a recommended service level of three 3-person companies. The Staff Report: FCFA Policy and Operational Update Page 4 November 13, 2023
County subsequently requested information on the cost of a 2-person versus 3-person company which was estimated by Baker Tilly at $1.97 million as it also included in-house fire prevention services rather than the contract services currently provided by each city. For each cost estimate, service response would come from companies based at either Station 1 in Arroyo Grande or Station 2 in Grover Beach given the current closure of Station 3 in Oceano.
On September 12, the Board of Supervisors received a presentation from County staff about policy options for the County to provide fire service in Oceano if LAFCO approved OCSD’s request for divestiture. Contracting with FCFA was recommended by County staff and the Board of Supervisors concurred and directed staff to begin negotiations with FCFA for this contract service.
However, under this option FCFA’s service level would be similar to the current service level with a third 2-person company and contract fire prevention services. FCFA would receive $1.7 million for providing this fire service in FY 2024-25 which is considerably less than the $2.15 million proposed to the County for a 3-person company or the $1.97 million subsequently proposed for a 2-person company with in-house fire prevention services. Board members and County staff indicated the County’s desire to have 3-person staffing in all unincorporated areas consistent with the County’s Fire Strategic Plan but lack of available funding and equity concerns with other areas would preclude them from funding this service level for Oceano at this time.
On October 18, the FCFA Board discussed the issue of Oceano fire service and provided direction to staff on parameters for a potential service contract between FCFA and the County. The Board recognized the value of providing this service to help secure additional funding for FCFA though expressed significant concern over the lack of sufficient funding from the County for a 3-person company. Achieving 3-person staffing levels is important for FCFA to ensure the highest quality service response and the Board directed staff to continue working with the County on options to achieve this desired staffing level in a contract service model. The Board also directed staff to work with the County on capital improvements related to Station 3 as operating a third company out of this station again would provide the most effective service response. Staff is carrying out this direction with the County with a goal of bringing a draft term sheet or agreement to the Board in January. Staff will defer to Council Members Rushing and/or Weirick to provide additional information on the Board’s discussion and to seek input from other Council Members.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact from this agenda item. The cost of the City’s contribution to FCFA for fire and emergency medical services is included in the City’s operating budget and totals $2.77 million for FY 2023-24 and $2.86 million for FY 2024-25.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1) Receive an update on Five Cities Fire Authority policy and operational items to date in FY 2023-24 and provide input and comments to Council representatives and staff; or 2) Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.