Final-Sebastopol-FR-01-03-23 — Sebastopol City Council, January 31, 2023

Fire Department Feasibility Study

SEBASTOPOL, CALIFORNIA

FINALREPORT
January 3, 2023
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Scope of Work 1
Approaches Utilized in the Study 2
Summary of Emergency Service Alternatives 3

Sebastopol’s Emergency Services 10
Background and Overview 10
Sebas topol Fire Department Organization 14
Phys ical Res ources 15
His torical Workload 17
Training and Education 21
Fire Prevention 23
Financial Res ources 24
Gold Ridge Fire Protection District 26
Background and Overview 26
Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict Organization 29
Phys ical Res ources 30
His torical Workload 33
Training and Education 37
Fire Prevention 37
Financial Res ources 38
Evaluation of the Sebastopol Emergency Services System 40 National Emergency Service Standards 40
Response Time 42
Call Processing 44
Turnout Time 45
Distribution of Resources 46
Concentration of Resources 47
Physical Resources 49
Apparatus and Equipment 49
Fire Station Facilities 52

Financial Resources 55
Revenues 55
Expenditures 56
Volunteer Stipends 57

Emergency Services Alternatives – Enhanced Status Quo 63 Emergency Service System Performance 63
Enhancing System Performance 63
Twenty-Four Hour Staffing 64
Sixteen Hour Staffing 67
Combination Sys tem 71
Emergency Services Alternatives - Consolidation 75
Emergency Service System Performance 75
Financial Resources 75
Governance 79
Service Delivery Improvements and Implementation 81
Retention of the Sebastopol Fire Department 81
Consolidation with Gold Ridge Fire Protection District 82 Recommended Approach for Service Delivery 84
Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Executive Summary
The Matrix Consulting Group was retained by the City of Sebastopol to review the current fire service delivery system and to examine the feasibility of alternative delivery systems.

This document is the result of this development and collaboration of the plan.

Scope of Work
The scope of this study included the assessment of the current fire protection system operations, response capabilities, staffing, and other resources necessary for the delivery of services to the city. This included financial resources, contracts, and alternatives to the emergency services delivery system. This project focused on the following:
• Retention of City of Sebas topol Volunteer Fire Department with Convers ion to 24/ 7 Staffing Model
• Cons olidation of City of Sebas topol Volunteer Fire Department with Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict
The s cope of work lis ted below, includes but is not limited to the following, and is required for Item 1 and Item 2 above.
• Cos ts Es timates to Include Pers onnel, Equipment, Infrastructure • Calculate a per parcel cos t for any required funding beyond the Sebas topol Fire Department’s current budget allocation
• The financial capacity of each option to provide long-term fire s ervice and recommendations for any additional funding s ources not already being captured • Recommend process to es tablis h and implement either option • Provide a financial forecas t for five years out regarding cos t implications for each option
The report will develop an analys is of pres ent res ources available to meet emergency s ervices requirements , including an inventory of both manpower, apparatus and equipment. The report needs to identify departmental s trengths, weaknes s es and differences , and provide recommendations to the City of Sebas topol management and City Council.

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In general, this effort will provide a realis tic recommendation for the res olution of implementation is s ues and the as s ociated financial implications and provide a comparis on to the key items lis ted below:

Factors to Cons ider:
• Organization Overview
• Planning For Fire and Emergency Medical Protection
• Calls for Service
• Capital Improvement Plans for Apparatus , Equipment and Infras tructure / Facility(ies )
• Suppres s ion
• Training Programs
• Fire Prevention Program
• Los s Potential
• Contract Adminis tration
• Fis cal Analys is
• Plan of Implementation. A plan of implementation for either 1 or 2 lis ted below s hall be developed as a product of the evaluation.:
• Retention of City of Sebas topol Volunteer Fire Department with Convers ion to 24/ 7 Staffing Model
• Cons olidation of City of Sebas topol Volunteer Fire Department with Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict
The approaches us ed in this s tudy were comprehens ive as des cribed below.

Approaches Utilized in the Study
To understand and evaluate service level issues facing the city, the project team undertook an assessment of the fire department. The principal approaches utilized by the project team in this study included, but were not limited to, the following:

Internal Interviews – members of the project team individually interviewed numerous executives, management, and supervisory staff of the City of Sebastopol and Gold Ridge Fire Protection District leadership.

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Data Collection – the project team collected a wide variety of external and internal data documenting the structure, operations and organization, including:
• Department s taffing and s cheduling.
• Documentation reflecting operations management.
• Numerous output data reflecting s ervices provided.
• Various other performance information.

This data was s ummarized in a ‘des criptive profile’ of the City of Sebas topol Fire Department and the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict, which was reviewed by the s taff of each organization to ens ure we had a factual foundation for the s tudy. The firs t chapter of this report contains the ‘des criptive profile. This approach ens ured that the project team had an appropriate unders tanding of the fire protection s ystem.

Summary of Emergency Services Alternatives
The City of Sebas topol is s eeking to improve the efficiency and effectivenes s of the fire department and the services provided to the res idents , bus ines s es , and vis itors . There are challenges ahead for the city and the emergency s ervices sys tem that not only includes the phys ical res ources but als o the s ervice delivery s ys tem. Through the work of an Ad Hoc Fire Committee, the city has obtained a propos al to cons olidate its fire department with the neighboring Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. The review and analys is contained in this report is directed at one of two options ; retain the current fire department and convert to a 24/ 7 s taffing model us ing career and volunteer s taffing or to cons olidate with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict that already has a 24/ 7 s taffing model.

Elements Common to All Alternatives
There are two elements that will require the attention of the city regardles s of the final decis ion of the s taffing and res pons e s ystem. The Sebas topol fire s tation will require an extens ive review and renovation. The station does not have the capacity to hous e s taff on a 24 hour bas is . The s leeping area is in the training room us ing murphy beds folded into the wall. The was her and dryer are located in the s ame room as the s ingle s hower with very little privacy. Storage in the facility is very limited, pers onal protective equipment is located on movable racks that are in the middle of the bays behind the apparatus . The fire department us es three Conex s torage containers located at the public works garage to s tore equipment and s upplies . On the exterior, there are water leaks into the building and the wood overhang on the front is rotted. There are s everal ways to addres s thes e Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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is s ues including adding a s econd floor, however, the city would be well advis ed to acquire the s ervices of a des ign profess ional to provide alternatives to the city for alterations or redes ign of the fire s tation to provide for the needs of the fire department and the hous ing of crew members .

The next element is the apparatus and its replacement. There are s everal ways to determine the timing for the replacement of apparatus from using age alone to a combination of maintenance and age. While the front-line apparatus is relatively new with the Ladder Truck being the newes t at 10 years old, s ome of the other apparatus is older and needing to be replaced. The following table highlights the older apparatus to be replaced bas ed on age alone
Unit ID Year Description Type Replacement Cost
8381 FD 1990 Pierce Lance Type 1 Engine $750,000
8340 FD 2008 Dodge ram 2500 Utility Pickup Truck $50,000 8330 FD 1994 International Medium Rescue $450,000
8361 1996 International Type 3 Engine $450,000
Total Estimated Replacement Cost $1,700,000
The replacement of apparatus is an ongoing is s ue, and the city should es tablis h and adopt a program that contains benchmarks and meas urable components for the planned replacement of apparatus . In this manner the replacement can be planned, and the cost budgeted appropriately. It s hould be noted the apparatus manufacturers are quoted as much as 30 months from the time an order is placed for the delivery, making the planning as pect more important than ever.

Us e of Stipends
A common practice in the fire s ervices acros s the country is the use of stipends to help the volunteer s taff to cover the cos ts as s ociated with training for and res ponding to emergency calls for service within the community. The us e of s tipends is regulated by the Department of Labor and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The following points are from an opinion letter written by the Wage and Hour Divis ion of the United States Department of Labor dated December 18, 2008, as it relates to the use of s tipends :
• A public agency volunteer cannot receive any compens ation, but may be paid “expens es , reas onable benefits , or a nominal fee, or any combination thereof”. • The regulations allow for volunteer firefighters to be paid a nominalfee even if paid on a “per call” or s imilar bas is , as long as s uch payment is cons is tent with certain Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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factors denoting the relative “s acrifice” of the volunteer. (lis ting among the factors to be cons idered: the dis tance traveled, and time and effort expended by the volunteer; whether the volunteer has agreed to be available around-the-clock; and whether the volunteer provides s ervices throughout the year, even if thos e s ervices are provided periodically).
• A nominal fee cannot be a s ubs titute for compens ation or tied to productivity. • The Department finds that the fee paid is (apart from expens es ) nominal if it does not exceed 20 percent of the amount that otherwis e would be required to hire a permanent employee for the s ame s ervices . For example, if a volunteer firefighter s taffs the equivalent of three s hifts during a month, the nominal fee s hould not exceed 20 percent of what it would cos t to employ a career firefighter to s taff these three s hifts . If the cos t to s taff the three shifts is $10,000, the stipend cannot exceed 20% of that cos t or $2,000.

Bas ed on a review of s tipend payments over the pas t four years, s everal volunteer s taff members may have exceeded the limits s et forth in the previous points . Als o included in the s tipend payments are thos e funds earned while as s igned to callouts for wildfire res pons es . Thes e payments are made by the State of California and pas s ed through the city to the volunteers . Thes e payments may or may not be s ubject to the FLSA regulations . The city s hould engage a workforce s pecialis t with expertis e in s tipend pay s ys tems and the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide guidance on the us e of stipend funds and related volunteer pay s ys tems . In this manner the city can be as s ured their payroll and s ys tem are compliant with the regulations .

Emergency Service Alternatives
There were three alternatives for the delivery of fire s uppres s ion s ervices examined as a part of this s ervice review. Retaining the current fire department with enhancements to the s taffing model, us ing the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict to provide overs ight to the current fire department, and cons olidating with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict.

There are common themes for each of the three alternatives to unders tand. • The city will continue to receive the s ame services regardles s of the alternative s elected. Res ources will continue to res pond from the Sebas topol Fire Station and as s is tance will continue to be provided from Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict and Graton Fire Protection Dis trict.
• The city will continue to have res pons ibility for capital items s uch fire s tations and apparatus.

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• Improvements to the delivery of s ervices are a res pons e time is s ue and a s taffing reliability is s ue.

Retention of the Existing Fire Department
Enhancing the staffing of the existing fire services will improve both the response time and reliability issues. There are three ways to improve the staffing levels of the fire department.
• Provide 24 hour staffing using stipend volunteer staff members. • Provide 16 hour staffing using stipend volunteer staff members. • Provide 24-hour staffing using a combination staffing model using career and stipend volunteer staff members.

The use of stipend volunteer staff members will be dependent on the FLSA review and subsequent policies and procedures. It can be done but there may be a need for more volunteer staff members in the fire department. Providing 24-hour staffing is also dependent on the facilities. If the city would choose to install a modular trailer for living quarters, the 24 -hour staffing model would work. If the city chooses not to install a modular trailer, the 16-hour staffing model would work.

The following table provides a snapshot of the cost for each of the three staffing models.

Using the 2022 – 2023 Adopted Budget as a base, the only line items that were changed are based on the staffing model. For example, moving to a 24 hour staffing model using stipend volunteers significantly increases the Salaries Part -Time (Shift) line item.

Likewise, the combination system significantly increases the Salaries line item.

Depending on the outcome of the FLSA review, the use of a combination staffing model would provide 24-hour staffing and limit the use of stipend volunteer staff to one per shift. 2022 – 2023
Adopted
Budget
Option 1 - 24
Hour Staffing
Option 2 - 16
Hour Staffing Combination
Salaries $311,400 $311,400 $311,400 $813,981
Overtime $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500
Salaries - Part Time (Shift) $77,200 $657,000 $438,000 $73,000 Salaries - Part Time (Calls/Drills) $150,000 $113,550 $118,635 $113,550 Salaries Part Time (Captain
Weekends) $28,800 $0 $28,800 $0
Salaries - Part Time (Retention) $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $648,900 $1,163,450 $978,335 $1,082,031
Benefits $200,800 $200,800 $200,800 $487,975
Health in-Lieu $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550
Accrual In -Lieu $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000
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Medicare / FICA $60,000 $23,937 $23,937 $62,384
Retiree Health Ins urance (OPEB) $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 Fire Service CSFA Award $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200
Fire Dis ability Ins urance $3,200 $3,200 $3,200 $3,200 Contract Services $68,000 $68,000 $68,000 $68,000
Office Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000
Misc. Supplies and Services $39,050 $39,050 $39,050 $39,050 Dues/Subscriptions $13,500 $13,500 $13,500 $13,500
Equipment Maintenance $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
Vehicle Maintenance $27,500 $27,500 $27,500 $27,500
Vehicle Fuel $25,500 $25,500 $25,500 $25,500
Meetings/Travel $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000
Utilities - Gas and Electric $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Utilities - City Use $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000
Telecommunications $7,700 $7,700 $7,700 $7,700
Allocated Liability Insurance $57,600 $57,600 $57,600 $57,600 Allocated Workers' Comp Insurance $59,700 $59,700 $59,700 $59,700 Total Operational Expenditures $1,313,500 $1,791,987 $1,606,872 $2,036,190 The current cost of the fire department repres ents approximately 11% of the revenues .

The cos t of a combination fire department repres ents approximately 18% of the revenues , an increas e of 6.3%. For comparis on, public works repres ents 12.3% and the police department repres ents approximately 51% of the revenues .

Administrative Oversight
Us ing the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict to provide overs ight is not a viable option as it did not directly enhance the s ervice delivery to the city and therefore was not included in the body of the report.

Consolidation with Gold Ridge Fire Protection District
Cons olidation with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict is the third option examined.

Bas ed on the proposal provided in February 2022, the dis trict propos ed us ing a combination s taffing model with two career pos itions and a s tipend volunteer s taff pos ition for each 24-hour s hift. The propos al included apparatus maintenance, facility maintenance, training, and fire prevention activities.

Revenues were als o included in the propos al through the annexation of the city into the fire dis trict. This would allow the s pecial taxes as s es s ed by the fire district to be as s ess ed to the res idents and bus ines s es of the city without the need of a vote by the public. Bas ed on the projections contained in the propos al, this would generate $1,111,057 annually. In addition, the propos al relies on the city to continue contributing to the cos ts of fire Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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protection through a fixed percentage of the city’s annual revenue. This fixed percentage is to be negotiated as the agreement process moves forward. To provide context to the revenues and expenditures , the following table illus trates thes e revenues and cos ts .

To enact this consolidation, the Sebastopol City Council and the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District Board of Directors would need to approve the final negotiated agreement. The consolidation agreement would also n eed to be approved by the Local Formation Commission (LAFCO) to be finalized. Once LAFCO approves the consolidation, the tax overlay from the fire district can be assessed to the residents and businesses of the city. Implementation of the agreement can pro ceed.

Recommended Approach to Service Delivery
Bas ed on the review and analys is the project team recommends a phas ed approach to the cons olidation of emergency s ervices with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. • Phas e 1 would cons is t of contracting with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict to provide adminis trative s ervices and providing overs ight to the cons olidation proces s . Begin to design a plan to renovate the fire station to hous e emergency s ervices s taff.
• To improve the res pons e to calls for s ervice, phas e 2 includes staffing the fire s tation for a 16-hour period daily Monday through Friday. Staffing the s tation from 6 am to 10 pm would provide s ervice to approximately 63% of the call volume in the City of Sebas topol.
• Phas e 3 includes the development of the documentation neces s ary to file with LAFCO for the cons olidation and annexation of the City of Sebas topol into the Gold Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. Timing for this proces s is unknown, however with both organizations s upporting the cons olidation the timing may be shortened. • The final phas e begins with the cons olidation approval from LAFCO and continues with the renovations to the fire s tation. Once the renovations are complete, the funding in place as a res ult of the annexation/ cons olidation, the s taffing model would change from the 16-hour Monday through Friday to the 24 hour 7 days a week s taffing model.

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Sebastopol’s Emergency Services
This chapter provides an overview of the general characteristics of the City of Sebastopol and the emergency services delivery system.

Background and Overview
Located in southwest Sonoma County west of the Highway 101 corridor, the City of Sebastopol is located in Sonoma County in the California wine country. Santa Rosa is approximately 7.2 miles northeast of the city and Rohnert Park is approximately 9.5 miles to the southeast.

The City of Sebastopol, incorporated in 1902, encompasses approximately 1.88 square miles of land with an estimated population of 7,664 according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau estimate. This creates a population density of approximately 4,076 people per square mile. State Route 116 is a major north/south highway in the city and State Route 12 a major east/west highway. In 1905, the city purchased its first fire suppression equipment for its all -volunteer fire department. The first new fi re engine was purchased in 1927, and the first full-time fire chief was hired in 1973.

Sebastopol is organized under the Council-Manager form of government and is governed by a five (5) member City Council which is elected at large to four -year staggered terms.

The Mayor is selected from the council on a rotating basis. The City Manager reports to the Mayor and City Council and is responsible for the overall management of the municipal departments.

Demographic Profile
The following table illus trates the demographic profile of Sebas topol with changes that have occurred s ince the 2010 Cens us .

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US Census Bureau 2010 2015 2020
Estimated Population 7,335 7,760 7,666
Median Age 47.2 51.3 48.5
Children Under Age 5 3.8% 2.6% 4.0%
Children Ages 5 to 19 years 17.2% 13.6% 14.7%
Persons Age 20 to 59 years 57.6% 48.3% 48.6%
Persons Age 60 and Over 21.3% 35.5% 32.6%
Employment Sectors:

Education, Health Care, Soc. Svc. 24.0% 19.0% 16.9%
Retail Trade 11.6% 14.8% 12.0%
Professional, Scientific, Mgmt. 6.9% 13.6% 14.6%
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 5.6% 5.4% 6.7%
Entertainment, Recreation, Food 5.1% 8.0% 10.9%
Construction 11.0% 7.6% 12.1%
Manufacturing 16.1% 12.9% 6.2%
Transportation, Warehousing, Util. 3.4% 3.2% 5.3%
Public Administration 4.2% 6.5% 4.5%
Other Services 7.0% 2.7% 2.1%
Wholesale 1.4% 2.8% 4.6%
Information 3.8% 3.6% 2.3%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 0.0% 0.0% 1.8%
Within the city there are 7,666 res idents in an area of 1.8 s quare miles res ulting in a population dens ity of 4,258.8 res idents per s quare mile.

The population of the city has increas ed 4.5% over the pas t ten years and has witnes s ed a large increas e in the age of the res idents . In 2010 approximately 21.3% of the population was over the age of 60 and in 2020 that percentage increas ed to 32.6%, an increas e of approximately 11.3%. As well, the median age has increas ed from 47.2 to 48.5 years of age s ince 2010.

The following map provides a view of population dens ity by cens us tract for the City of Sebastopol.

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Higher dens ity pockets of population are located primarily north and s outh of the centrally located fire s tation, and wes t of SR 116 near the center of the city with additional population dens ity located in the wes tern edge of the city along SR 12.

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The population dens ity of Gold Ridge Fire Protection District is much lower than Sebas topol. The highes t population dens ities in the fire dis trict are in the eas tern portion, primarily s outh of Sebas topol and along the SR 116 corridor. The leas t populated areas are wes t of Station 2, with a few pockets of higher population located off SR 12, eas t of Station 3 and northwes t of Sebas topol.

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Sebastopol Fire Department Organization
The Sebas topol Fire Department operates as a volunteer department within the confines of city government. It has one full-time chief, one full-time 40-hour fire engineer, and s taffs the remaining pos itions with twenty-two (22) volunteer firefighters and s ix (6) Res erve Firefighters .

The Fire Chief manages fire prevention activities as the des ignated fire mars hal in collaboration with the fire engineer. There is a s hared, full-time adminis trative as s is tant that is funded 50/ 50 with the Building Department performing duties as as s igned for both departments.

The Sonoma County Fire Dis trict contracts with Sebas topol to provide fire and emergency s ervices to an area immediately adjacent to the city on its eas tern boundary, and northeas t along SR 12. Through this contract, the city receives $10,000 annually providing approximately 150 calls for service in the SCFD district. Emergency medical trans port s ervices are provided by Sonoma Life Support (AMR)
Mission Statement:

The Sebas topol Fire Department’s mis s ion is to be a leading emergency s ervice organization by:
• Meet and exceed the service requirements and expectations of our community in fire prevention, fire s uppres s ion, res cue and education. • Utilizing and improving the dedication and s kills of our people. • Continually improving all of our s ervices and operations .

Values of the Sebastopol Fire Department:

We, the members of the SFD value the following and expect that we will demons trate our beliefs in thes e values on a day-to-day bas is .
• Pride
• High level of s ervice
• Hones t
• Integrity
• Competent
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• Safe
• Participation
• Teamwork
• Tradition
The organizational chart that follows illus trates the current fire department organization.

Sebas topol Fire Department
Physical Resources
Service delivery is provided from four fire stations located throughout the region. The following map illustrates the location of the fire stations.

Fire Chief
Assistant
Fire Chief
Captain
Engineer (2)
Firefighter (3)
Captain
Engineer (2)
Firefighter (3)
Captain
Engineer (2)
Firefighter (3)
Captain
Engineer
Firefighter (3)
Training
Officer Captain
Captain Reserve
Staff
Senior Administrative
Analyst
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The table that follows illus trate the apparatus and s taffing for the Sebas topol s tation, adminis trative, and res erve apparatus .

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Sebastopol Fire Station
7425 Bodega Avenue
Description
of Use Sole station for the city and houses front -line and reserve apparatus.

Apparatus
Space Three bay drive through
Assigned
Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum
Staffing
8340 FD 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 Utility Pickup Truck Cross-staffed 8330 FD 1994 International Medium Rescue Cross-staffed
8350 FD 2012 Pierce Dash 105' Ladder Truck Cross-staffed 8361 1996 International Type 3 Engine Cross-staffed
8380 FD 2011 Pierce Velocity Type 1 Engine 2
8381 FD 1990 Pierce Lance Type 1 Engine Reserve
8300 FD 2018 Ford Explorer Fire Chief 1
B83 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Battalion Chief 1
8343 2014 Klamath Rescue Boat Cross-staffed
Historical Workload
The fire department responds to emergency and non -emergency calls for service. The following table illustrates the activities of the department grouped by the type of call or detail in Sebastopol.

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Sebas topol Calls for Service
Type of Call 2019 2020 2021 Total Pct.

Auto Accidents 53 26 34 113 3.9%
Medical Calls 608 567 629 1,804 62.6%
Total Medical and Auto Accidents 661 593 663 1,917 66.5% Fire Alarm - Activation 38 32 52 122 4.2%
Fire Alarm - False 6 0 0 6 0.2%
Fire Alarm - Malfunction 50 22 22 94 3.3%
Mutual Aid 1 6 2 9 0.3%
Other Type Fire 9 12 6 27 0.9%
Smoke Scare 10 8 10 28 1.0%
Structure Fire 12 9 7 28 1.0%
Vegetation/Brush/Debris Fires 14 26 26 66 2.3%
Vehicle Fire 2 2 5 9 0.3%
All Fire Calls 142 117 130 389 13.5%
Rescue Calls - Extrication 1 5 5 11 0.4%
Rescue Calls - Other 12 14 7 33 1.1%
Rescue Calls - Technical 0 0.0%
Rescue Calls - Water 8 0 1 9 0.3%
All Rescue Calls 21 19 13 53 1.8%
Dispatched/Canceled 1 3 1 5 0.2%
Good Intent Calls 17 16 22 55 1.9%
Hazardous Condition 83 60 67 210 7.3%
Hazardous Materials 1 1 2 0.1%
Overpressure Rupture/Explosion/Overheat 2 0 1 3 0.1%
Service Calls 82 91 75 248 8.6%
Severe Weather Alerts 0 2 1 3 0.1%
Other Type of Calls 186 173 167 523 18.1%
Total Calls for Service 1,010 902 973 2,882
Overall, medical calls repres ent approximately 62.6% of the call volume with auto accidents accounting for an additional 3.9% of the call volume. Fire alarms , s tructure fires , vegetation fires , and other fire calls account for approximately 13.5% of the calls for s ervice.

The following table dis plays the total number of calls for s ervice handled by the Sebas topol Fire Department by each hour and day of the week for the pas t three years .

Both emergency and non-emergency calls were included to provide an overall view of the call demand on the fire protection s ys tem.

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Calls for Service by Hour and Day of the Week
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total
12 am 10 12 3 11 5 7 9 57
1 am 12 4 7 2 6 5 6 42
2 am 9 0 7 4 4 4 6 34
3 am 6 9 3 4 5 3 6 36
4 am 10 8 9 3 8 7 2 47
5 am 11 11 6 9 6 8 12 63
6 am 13 11 6 13 11 8 8 70
7 am 14 22 13 16 15 4 16 100
8 am 16 17 20 15 21 17 23 129
9 am 28 23 23 24 28 23 17 166
10 am 23 25 24 27 22 18 17 156
11 am 24 25 23 36 32 31 21 192
12 pm 26 24 27 25 25 22 24 173
1 pm 22 32 24 35 32 28 27 200
2 pm 20 36 39 21 31 26 30 203
3 pm 23 25 33 19 32 30 29 191
4 pm 22 32 24 24 46 31 22 201
5 pm 23 17 20 25 24 15 24 148
6 pm 22 26 19 25 22 16 26 156
7 pm 17 16 18 15 21 19 25 131
8 pm 9 15 14 21 19 13 17 108
9 pm 22 14 13 16 15 12 22 114
10 pm 15 13 12 16 6 14 17 93
11 pm 10 3 16 12 11 15 8 75
Total 407 420 403 418 447 376 414 2,885
The call volume is heaviest during the middle part of the day from late morning to the early evening, with every day of the week relatively even in terms of the number of calls except for Friday which is the slowest in terms of call demand. The calls for service varied by time of day and day of the week. The busiest hour of the day is 2 pm with the slowest hour being 2 am.

The following chart further illustrates the calls for service by hour of the day.

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As illus trated, calls increas e s harply at the 9 am hour peaking at 2 pm and remain s teady throughout the day. The calls s harply decline at the 5 pm hour and continue to decline throughout the evening with 3 am being the s lowes t hour of the day.

The following map illus trates the call demand us ing GIS technology to outline where most of the calls are occurring.
0 50
100
150
200
250
12 am 3 am 6 am 9 am 12 pm 3 pm 6 pm 9 pm
2019- 2021 Calls by Time of Day
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As illus trated, the highes t volume of calls occurs along the SR 12 and SR 116 corridors .

There is another hot s pot in the eas tern area of the city off SR 12.

Training and Education
The Sebastopol Fire Department trains its personnel through a mentor prog ram, task books, and structured classroom training. The task books are for Truck, Rescue, and Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Engine. A monthly training plan is es tablis hed for each year. The following table illus trates the training hours provided for the pas t three years .

Topic 2019 2020 2021
Communications 2.5 0.0 2.5
Drivers Training 0.0 0.0 2.5
Engine Company Operations 25.0 7.5 37.5
Extrication 0.0 2.5 2.5
Fireground Safety 2.5 0.0 2.5
Hazardous Materials 5.5 0.0 0.0
Hose Evolutions 2.5 5.0 12.5
Hydraulics/Pump Operations 2.5 0.0 5.0
Incident Command 0.0 2.5 0.0
Ladder Operations 5.0 5.0 2.5
Medical 0.0 5.0 0.0
Personal Protective Equipment 8.5 0.0 2.5
Preplanning 2.5 0.0 0.0
Rescue 20.0 5.0 15.0
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus 0.0 2.5 2.5
Small Tools 5.0 2.5 0.0
Special Operations 50.0 2.5 22.0
Structure Fire Operations 2.5 2.5 0.0
Truck Company Operations 0.0 0.0 2.5
Ventilation 7.5 0.0 2.5
Wildland Fire Operations 7.5 5.0 5.0
Total Hours 149.0 47.5 119.5

In 2020 the number of hours offered are s ignificantly reduced due to the pandemic and the inability to train as a team. This carried over into 2021 as the pandemic began to end.

The following table provides the number of training hours expres sed as man-hours for the pas t three years .

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Topic 2019 2020 2021
Communications 60.0 0.0 40.0
Drivers Training 0.0 0.0 30.0
Engine Company Operations 477.5 130.0 475.0
Extrication 0.0 42.5 32.5
Fireground Safety 37.5 0.0 40.0
Hazardous Materials 47.5 0.0 0.0
Hose Evolutions 30.0 70.0 157.5
Hydraulics/Pump Operations 42.5 0.0 65.0
Incident Command 0.0 40.0 0.0
Ladder Operations 95.0 75.0 40.0
Medical 0.0 107.5 0.0
Personal Protective Equipment 181.0 0.0 52.5
Preplanning 50.0 0.0 0.0
Rescue 387.5 105.0 225.0
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus-General 0.0 40.0 40.0 Small Tools 105.0 52.5 0.0
Special Operations 971.5 60.0 320.5
Structure Fire Operations 45.0 37.5 0.0
Truck Company Operations 0.0 0.0 30.0
Ventilation 147.5 0.0 25.0
Wildland Fire Operations 152.5 82.5 72.5
Total Hours 2,830.0 842.5 1,645.5
Bas ed on the records of 32 pers onnel, there has been an average of 55.4 hours per year for the pas t three years for each s taff member. As noted previous ly, the pandemic in 2020 and the carry over into 2021 reduced the number of available training hours for the department.

Fire Prevention
The Chief is the fire mars hal and works in conjunction with the fire engineer to perform annual ins pections at s chools , hos pitals , res idential care facilities and facilities with bus ines s licens es . Specific s tatis tics are not kept however it is es timated 200 ins pections per year are performed. The city us es a contractor for plan check reviews .

The Chief manages the City’s Weed Abatement Program which has about 50 properties in review. The properties are ins pected in the s ummer months for compliance. There are an additional 100 ins pections per year and responses to community complaints .

A CERT and Radio Communications Program is managed with approximately 100 members.

Public outreach and education information was not available for the report.

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Financial Resources
The City of Sebastopol operates on a fiscal year ending on June 30. Budget preparation is the responsibility of the City Manager with assistance from various department heads throughout the city.

Revenue
Revenue for the city includes a variety of s ources . Sales tax repres ents the largest s ource at 44% of the revenue and property taxes repres enting approximately 28% of the total revenue. The following table illus trates the revenue s ources for the operation of the fire department.

Line Item FY 2020 - 21 Adopted FY 2021 - 22 (Estimated) FY 2022-23 Adopted Fire Department Fees $30,000 $30,000 $30,000
Water fund $80,914 $83,388 $94,745
Trans fer In $0 ($429,242) $0
General Fund $1,106,180 $2,000,647 $1,301,505
Total Revenue $1,217,094 $1,684,793 $1,426,250
As illus trated, approximately 92% of the revenues for the fire department are from the general fund.

Expenditures
The following table is a s ummary of the operating expenditures for the Sebas topol Fire Department.

Line Item FY 2020 – 21
Actual
FY 2021 – 22
(Estimated)
FY 2022 – 23
Adopted
Salaries & Benefits $816,192 $888,050 $969,950
Contract Services $45,685 $61,000 $108,000
Services & Supplies $56,651 $52,300 $65,550
Equipment Rental/ Maintenance $59,283 $72,700 $81,750
Telecommunications $8,765 $8,700 $9,200
Training/ Meetings $9,128 $9,000 $10,000
Dues & Subs criptions $10,370 $13,200 $13,500
Utilities $11,774 $8,000 $8,000
Allocated Ins urance $113,422 $101,100 $117,300
Other Community Supports $33,733 $9,500 $11,000
Capital Outlay $0 $461,242 $32,000
Total Expense $1,165,003 $1,684,792 $1,426,250
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As illus trated, pers onnel s ervices for the fire department are the larges t operating expenditure accounting for approximately 68% of operating expenditures in 2022.

Stipends
Volunteer staff pos itions are paid a $200 s tipend for an 8-hour s hift at the fire station.

Off-duty volunteer firefighters that res pond to s pecified calls are paid a $15 s tipend per 2-hour response, any calls over the 2-hour res pons e is paid $20.00 per hour labeled as overtime in the following table. The table below outlines the s tipends paid to the volunteer staff.

Rank Fire Calls Fire Drills Fire Shifts
Firefighter $15.00 $15.00 $200
Captain $15.00 $18.00 $200
Captain Weekend standby $500.00
Assistant Chief $15.00 $20.00 $200
Overtime $20.00
In addition to the s tipends paid in accordance with the above table, the department funds an additional $20,000 per quarter ($80k per year) retention stipend that is paid quarterly, bas ed upon the number of emergency res pons es . This funding originally began as a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Res pons e (SAFER) grant at $100,000 per year. The funding was dis continued in 2015, however was reins tated to enhance recruitment and retention.

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Gold Ridge Fire Protection District
This chapter provides an overview of the general characteristics of Gold Ridge and the emergency services delivery system.

Background and Overview
In the 1950s Hessel, Twin Hills, and Freestone Fire Departments provided fire protection and rescue services for the rural Sebastopol area staffed with volunteer firefighters. The Gold Ridge Fire Protection District was formed in 1993 with the merger of the Hessel and Twin Hills Fire Districts. This created a fire district that covers approximately 75 square miles to the sout h and west of Sebastopol. The fire department provides responses to fires, medical emergencies, hazardous materials incidents, natural and made -made disasters, mutual aid assistance to neighboring departments and related emergencies in an effort to reduce life and property loss to the communities of Hessel, Twin Hills and Freestone.

Governance of the fire district is through a seven-member Board of Directors that are elected to four -year terms as provided in California Health and Safety Code section 13842.

Demographic Profile
The following table illus trates the demographic profile of Gold Ridge with changes that have occurred s ince the 2010 Cens us .

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US Census Bureau 2010 2015 2020
Estimated Population 20,539 21,795 20,564
Median Age 48.0 50.2 50.9
Children Under Age 5 3.8% 3.2% 3.4%
Children Ages 5 to 19 years 17.5% 14.1% 15.2%
Persons Age 20 to 59 years 54.1% 50.4% 46.1%
Persons Age 60 and Over 24.5% 32.3% 35.4%
Employment Sectors:

Education, Health Care, Soc. Svc. 24.7% 23.8% 25.0%
Retail Trade 10.3% 10.8% 10.4%
Professional, Scientific, Mgmt. 11.4% 14.6% 13.7%
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 7.2% 4.8% 3.6%
Entertainment, Recreation, Food 6.3% 8.6% 9.5%
Construction 9.7% 7.5% 9.1%
Manufacturing 8.5% 8.3% 7.0%
Transportation, Warehousing, Util. 3.9% 3.4% 3.3%
Public Administration 3.4% 4.0% 3.6%
Other Services 4.6% 5.0% 5.1%
Wholesale 3.2% 2.8% 3.0%
Information 3.5% 2.3% 3.2%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 3.2% 4.1% 3.5%
Within the dis trict there are 20, 564 res idents in an area of 75 s quare miles res ulting in a population dens ity of 274.2 res idents per s quare mile.

The population for the dis trict has increas ed 0.1% over the pas t ten years and has witnes s ed a large increas e in the age of the res idents . In 2010 approximately 24.5% of the population was over the age of 60 and in 2020 that percentage increas ed to 35.4%, an increas e of approximately 10.9%. As well, the median age has increas ed from 48.0 to

50.9 years of age s ince 2010.

The following map provides a view of population dens ity by cens us tract for the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict.

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The population dens ity of Gold Ridge Fire Protection District is much lower than Sebas topol. The highes t population dens ities in the fire dis trict are in the eas tern portion, primarily s outh of Sebas topol and along the SR 116 corridor. The leas t populated areas are wes t of Station 2, with a few pockets of higher population located off SR 12, eas t of Station 3 and northwes t of Sebas topol.

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Gold Ridge Fire Protection District Organization
The Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict operates as a combination department utilizing career and volunteer s taffing. The career s taff includes a Fire Chief, 3 Battalion Chiefs , and 12 firefighters . This s taffing is s upplemented with approximately 50 volunteer firefighters .

There is a minimum of two career pers onnel per s hift at the Hess el and Twin Hills s tations working on a 48/ 96 s chedule along with a Battalion Chief. Staffing is s upplemented with volunteer firefighters and firefighter interns from Santa Ros a J unior College. The intern program has s ix to fifteen interns as s igned to the dis trict and are required to work s ix (6) nine (9) hour days per month annually. Hes s el and Twin Hills are the s taffed stations with Frees tone staffed with an all-volunteer s taff. Volunteer s taff are not dis patched for emergency medical calls as the on-duty staff handles thos e incidents .

Emergency medical trans port s ervices are provided by Sonoma Life Support (AMR) primarily, and Bodega Bay FPD as a s upplemental res ource if needed.

Mission Statement:

Maintain the highes t level of commitment and profes s ionalis m while protecting and s erving the communities of Hess el, Twin Hills , and Frees tone through effective and efficient emergency res pons e, public education, cus tomer s ervice, and fire prevention.

Values of the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District:

We value
• Hones ty
• Integrity
• Participation
• Safety
• Taking pride in the organization.
• Teamwork
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Courtes y
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• Res pect
• Leaders hip
The following chart illus trates the organization of the Gold Ridge Fire Department:

Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict

Physical Resources
Service delivery is provided from four fire stations located throughout the region. The following map illustrates the location of the fire stations.

Board of
Directors
Fire Chief
A Shift BC
Captain/ Company
Officer (2)
Firefighter/ Driver
(2)
Volunteer Stipend
(2)
B Shift BC
Captain/ Company
Officer (2)
Firefighter/ Driver
(2)
Volunteer Stipend
(2)
C Shift BC
Captain/ Company
Officer (2)
Firefighter/ Driver
(2)
Volunteer Stipend
(2)
Engineer 40 hour
(2)
Office Admin
As s is tant Fire
Chief Facilities
As s is tant Fire
Chief Fleet
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The tables that follow illus trate the apparatus and staffing for the three Gold Ridge Fire Dis trict stations , adminis trative, and res erve apparatus .

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Fire Station 1 - Hessel
4500 Hessel Road South
Description
of Use
Located in the southwest section of the district providing service the CA166 corridor and areas in the southern sections of the district. Serves as the headquarters station with the administrative offices.

Apparatus
Space 6-bays with one drive-through bay.

Assigned
Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum
Staffing
8181 2002 HME Type 1 Engine 2
8161 2008 Navistar/International Type 3 Engine Reserve
8171 2021 Navistar/International Type 3 Engine Cross-staffed 8191 2020 Rosenbauer Water tender Cross-staffed
8169 1997 Navistar/International Type 3 Engine Reserve
8131 2007 Ford F550 Air/Incident Support Cross-staffed
8141 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Utility
Fire Station 2 - Twin Hills
1690 Watertrough Road North
Description
of Use
Located just west of Sebastopol providing service to the northeast section of the district. Also provides support to the Freestone area.

Apparatus
Space 5-bays with one drive-through bay.

Assigned
Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum
Staffing
8162 2017 Navistar/International Type 3 Engine Cross Staffed 8182 2011 HME Type 1 Engine 2
8192 2005 HME Water tender Cross Staffed
8142 2014 Chevrolet Silverado Utility
B8 2022 Chevrolet Silverado Command 1
Fire Station 3 - Freestone
450 Bohemian Highway
Description
of Use
Located in the northwest section of the district providing service to the Freestone area.

Station is staffed by volunteers.

Apparatus
Space Two bays
Assigned
Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum
Staffing
8163 1994 Navistar/International Type 3 Engine Volunteers 8193 1995 Navistar/International Water Tender Cross-staffed Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Historical Workload
The fire district responds to emergency and non -emergency calls for service. The following table illustrates the activities of the district grouped by the type of call or detail in the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District.

Gold Ridge Calls for Service
Type of Call 2019 2020 2021 Total Pct.

Auto Accidents 79 79 5.9%
Medical Calls 638 638 47.3%
Total Medical and Auto Accidents 0 0 717 717 53.2%
Fire Alarm - Activation 23 23 1.7%
Fire Alarm - Fals e 0 0.0%
Fire Alarm - Malfunction 13 13 1.0%
Mutual Aid 6 6 0.4%
Other Type Fire 19 19 1.4%
Smoke Scare 15 15 1.1%
Structure Fire 21 21 1.6%
Vegetation/ Brus h/ Debris Fires 45 45 3.3%
Vehicle Fire 7 7 0.5%
All Fire Calls 0 0 149 149 11.1%
Res cue Calls - Extrication 6 6 0.4%
Res cue Calls - Other 8 8 0.6%
Res cue Calls - Search 1 1 0.1%
Res cue Calls - Water 2 2 0.1%
All Res cue Calls 0 0 17 17 1.3%
Dis patched/ Canceled 211 211 15.7%
Good Intent Calls 33 33 2.4%
Hazardous Condition 104 104 7.7%
Hazardous Materials 1 1 0.1%
Overpres s ure Rupture/ Explos ion/ Overheat 2 2 0.1%
Service Calls 114 114 8.5%
Severe Weather Alerts 1 1 0.1%
Non-Coded Calls 1 1 0.1%
Other Type of Calls 0 0 467 467 34.5%
Total Calls for Service 0 0 1,350 1,350
Overall, medical calls repres ent approximately 47.3% of the call volume with auto accidents accounting for an additional 5.9% of the call volume. Fire alarms , s tructure fires , vegetation fires , and other fire calls account for approximately 11.1% of the calls for s ervice.

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The following table dis plays the total number of calls for s ervice handled by the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict by each hour and day of the week for 2021. Both emergency and non-emergency calls were included to provide an overall view of the call demand on the fire protection s ys tem.

Calls for Service by Hour and Day of the Week
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total
12 am 3 4 4 5 1 6 10 33
1 am 2 5 3 4 0 4 5 23
2 am 3 3 5 5 1 5 4 26
3 am 4 3 4 4 1 3 9 28
4 am 4 5 1 4 1 9 4 28
5 am 4 4 4 1 3 6 5 27
6 am 9 4 4 4 4 1 1 27
7 am 9 10 3 4 11 5 9 51
8 am 9 14 4 10 10 4 12 63
9 am 10 10 10 10 15 15 9 79
10 am 11 7 13 4 8 14 18 75
11 am 11 8 10 11 14 12 17 83
12 pm 9 11 10 6 14 7 16 73
1 pm 9 10 13 16 13 11 14 86
2 pm 10 5 15 21 13 7 6 77
3 pm 8 10 12 17 8 10 14 79
4 pm 12 13 11 12 6 11 13 78
5 pm 16 8 12 12 10 8 10 76
6 pm 12 13 11 16 8 7 10 77
7 pm 13 8 13 14 3 6 8 65
8 pm 7 6 7 8 8 3 14 53
9 pm 6 9 6 7 12 8 5 53
10 pm 3 3 11 7 5 6 5 40
11 pm 7 9 5 11 3 5 10 50
Total 191 182 191 213 172 173 228 1,350
The call volume is heaviest during the middle part of the day from late morning to the early evening with Wednesday being the busiest day of the week. The calls for service varied by time of day and day of the week. The busiest hour of the day is 1 pm with the slowest hour being 1 am.

The following chart further illustrates the calls for service by hour of the day.

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As illus trated, calls increas e s harply at the 7 am hour peaking at 1 pm and remain s teady throughout the day. The calls s harply decline at the 6 pm hour and continue to decline throughout the evening with 1 am being the s lowes t hour of the day.

The following map illus trates the call demand us ing GIS technology to outline where the majority of the calls are occurring.
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
80 90
100
12 am 3 am 6 am 9 am 12 pm 3 pm 6 pm 9 pm
Gold Ridge FPD 2021 Calls by Time of Day
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As illus trated, the highes t volume of calls occurs along the SR 116 corridor. Additionally, there are clus ters of calls s outh and wes t of Sebas topol.

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Training and Education
Training for the Gold Ridge Fire Protection is managed by a Battalion Chief. The following table highlights the general topics presented to the personnel.

Topic/Area
Department SOG's
Drivers Training
Drivers Training
Fire Inves tigations
Fire Officer I
Firefighter I
Firefighter Safety
Forcible Entry
Hazardous Materials
Human Res ources Education
Ladder Operations
Medical
Pers onal Protective Equipment
Phys ical Fitnes s
Res cue
Structure Fire Operations
Wildland Fire Operations
Gold Ridge reported 4,215 man-hours of training through Augus t 2022 to the dis trict s taff.

Fire Prevention
Engine companies conduct approximately 225 defens ible s pace ins pections on an annual bas is , pre-plan fire ins pections , and s tate mandated ins pections of s chools , res idential care facilities , and as s emblies . Approximately 15 home s afety ins pections are conducted each year. Community meetings are held to dis cuss defens ible s pace, evacuation, emergency notifications , and community preparednes s . A J uvenile Fire Setters Program is managed by Sonoma County Fire Prevention Officers and the Dis trict participates in that program.

Further s pecific s tatis tics were not available for this report.

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Financial Resources
Gold Ridge Fire Protection District operates on a fiscal year ending on June 30. Budget preparation is the responsibility of the Fire Chief with final approval of the Board of Directors.

Revenue
The Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict receives revenues from a variety of s ources including taxes , fees , and intergovernmental s ervices . Tax revenue repres ents approximately 63% of the total revenues for the dis trict. The table below is a s ummary of the revenues for the fire dis trict.

Line Item FY 2019 - 20 Budget FY 2020 - 21 Budget FY 2021 - 22 Budget Tax Revenue $2,022,812 $3,180,955 $3,219,262
Us e of Money $25,278 $25,178 $27,506
Intergovernmental Revenues $1,010,480 $1,290,480 $1,310,100 Charges for Services $2,334 $560 $560
Mis c. Revenues $26,537 $20,840 $20,840
Carryover from prior year(s ) $0 $0 $500,000
Total Revenue $3,087,441 $4,518,013 $5,078,268
Expenditures
The following table is a s ummary of the operating expenditures for the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict.

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Line Item FY 2019 - 20 Budget FY 2020 - 21 Budget FY 2021 - 22 Budget Payroll Expenses $1,518,734 $1,923,824 $2,067,708
Extra Help $2,010 $8,500 $8,500
Strike Team Payroll Expenses $100 $100 $100
Boards $1,700 $2,100 $2,100
Overtime $18,000 $60,000 $60,000
FICA Retirement $9,000 $9,957 $12,500
PERS $318,365 $496,934 $439,183
Medicare $22,283 $28,765 $31,106
Health Insurance $282,939 $369,340 $341,942
Disability Insurance $5,099 $5,111 $5,111
Unemployment $0 $2,000 $2,000
Workers Comp $138,261 $162,504 $162,504
Total Salaries/Emp Benefits $2,316,491 $3,069,135 $3,132,754 Services & Supplies $315,000 $380,950 $690,334
Other charges $69,005 $69,005 $69,422
Assets $0 $100,000 $255,000
Contingency Appropriations $386,946 $898,922 $930,759
Total Expenditures $3,087,442 $4,518,012 $5,078,269
As illus trated, pers onnel s ervices for the Fire Dis trict are the larges t operating expenditure for the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict, accounting for approximately 62% of operating expenditures in FY 2022.

Stipends
Non-res ident/ res ident volunteers and interns that are FF I and EMT certified are paid a s tipend of $100 for a daytime s hift and $50 for a nighttime (s leeper) s hift or $150 for a twenty-four s hift. Non-res ident/ res ident volunteers and interns that do not have EMT certifications are paid a $50 s tipend for a s leeper s hift with no stipend for a daytime s hift.

Non-res ident/ res ident volunteers and interns are paid a $40 stipend for attending the weekly Thurs day training drill. The table below outlines the stipends paid to the volunteer staff.

Rank 24-hour Shift Day Shift Sleeper Shift Training
Firefighter I/ EMT $150.00 $100.00 $50.00 $40.00
Without FF I + EMT N/ A N/ A $50.00 $40.00
Staffing is s upplemented with volunteer firefighters and firefighter interns from Santa Ros a J unior College. The intern program has s ix to fifteen interns ass igned to the dis trict and are required to work s ix (6) nine (9) hour days per month annually. The s tipend program does not pay for emergency call res pons e. Volunteer members are not dis patched for emergency medical calls as the on-duty s taff handles thos e incidents .

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Evaluation of the Sebastopol Emergency Services System
This chapter compares and evaluates the current deployment and performance of the fire department and provides an analysi s of core elements needed to provide emergency services to the city.

National Emergency Service Standards
There are four notable sources of information to which responders and local policymakers can refer when determining the most appropriate response obje ctives for their community:
• The Ins urance Services Office (ISO) provides bas ic information regarding dis tances between fire s tations . However, this “objective” does little to recognize the unique nature of every community’s road network, population, calls for s ervice, call dens ity, etc.
• The National Fire Protection As s ociation (NFPA) promulgated two documents :
one for career fire departments and one for volunteer fire departments . Thes e documents have generated a great deal of dialogue and debate – which is s till ongoing.
– “NFPA 1710: Objective for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppres s ion Operations , Emergency Medical Operations , and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments .” This document (NFPA 1710) was originally publis hed in 2001 and las t updated in 2020. – NFPA 1720 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppres s ion Operations , Emergency Medical Operations , and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments was las t publis hed in 2020.
• The Commiss ion on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) in its “Objectives of Coverage” manual, places the res pons ibility for identifying “appropriate” res ponse objectives on the locality. Thes e objectives s hould be developed following a comprehens ive exercis e in which the ris ks and hazards in the community are compared to the likelihood of their occurrence.
• The American Heart As s ociation (AHA) provides information on the res pons e to cardiac events , the preferred methods of treatment, and the timing of the delivery of the medical care and treatment.

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To further define res pons e time components there are benchmark performance and bas eline performance. Benchmark performance are thos e values or s tandards that repres ent s uperior performance or bes t practice. Thes e are als o defined as goals to which an organization s trives to meet. Bas eline performance are thos e values or s tandards that repres ent actual performance bas ed on pas t data and his tory. In terms of res pons e time, the baseline performance is generally bas ed on three to five years of data.

The applicability for the NFPA models is bas ed on the definitions of the fire department s ervicing the community.
• NFPA 1710 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppres s ion Operations , Emergency Medical Operations , and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments was las t publis hed in 2020. It defines a career fire department as one that utilizes full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) s tation-based pers onnel immediately available to compris e at leas t 50 percent of an initial full alarm as s ignment.
• NFPA 1720 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppres s ion Operations , Emergency Medical Operations , and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments was las t publis hed in 2020. This defines a combination fire department as having emergency s ervice pers onnel compris ing les s than 85% of the majority of either volunteer or career members hip. • The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) had previous ly defined benchmark and bas eline res pons e times for each of the three res pons e time components (call proces s ing time, turnout time and travel time). They have s ince determined they are not a s tandard making organization and decided to leave the es tablis hment of benchmark performance standards to others but allows communities to es tablis h local bas eline s tandards . The body of work of CPSE is s ignificant and has been and continues to be us ed by numerous communities acros s the country when es tablis hing community s tandards for fire department performance. Their performance objectives were bas ed on population dens ity demographics .

Currently the us e of the previous three (3) years of performance data is accepted by CPSE to illus trate the bas eline performance capabilities of the fire department. • ISO continues to us e their s tandard 1.5-mile and 2.5-mile criteria for engine company and ladder company placement. Although they now accept a s ys tematic performance evaluation that demons trates the department can meet the time cons traints outlined in NFPA 1710.

The s cope of NFPA 1720 identifies the Standard as applicable to fire s ervice organizations that are combination and / or volunteer agencies . The Sebas topol Fire Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Department fits this definition therefore NFPA 1720 will be us ed to provide guidance and analys is of fire s ervice operations . Additional guidance from the CFAI will be utilized for analys is of thes e operations .

Appendix A contained in the NFPA 1710 document provides additional information and background as it pertains to s ervice delivery objectives for the juris diction as follows :
“There can be incidents or areas where the response criteria are affected by circumstances such as response personnel who are not on duty, unstaffed fire station facilities, natur al barriers, traffic congestion, insufficient water supply, and density of population or property. The reduced level of service should be documented in the written organizational statement by the percentage of incidents and geographical areas for which thetotal response time criteria are achieved.

Additional service delivery performance objectives should be established by the area having jurisdiction (AHJ) for occupancies other than those identified within the standard for benchmark single-family dwellings. Factors to be considered include specific response areas (i.e., suburban, rural, and wilderness) and occupancy hazards.”
This passage acknowledges the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), in this case the City of Sebastopol, is responsible for determining the level of service to be provided by its fire department. Considerations for the level of service include, but not limited to, the way the fire department responds, travel time, staffing, emergency calls versus non -emergency calls, roadways, financial resources, and those calls involving different occupancies.

Response Time
Response time to an emergency or call for assistance has been broken down into measurable and non-measurable segments. The response time continuum begins when the state of normalcy changes to a recognizable emergency. The following chart outlines the cascade of events that occur once an emergency starts or is recognized. Those highlighted points represent hard data or that which is quantitative versus soft data or that which is subjective and unknown.

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Res pons e Time Continuum
State of Normalcy
Dis covery of Emergency
Reaction to Emergency
Call Received by PSAP
Call Processing
Response Units Notified
Turnout Time
Units Responding
Travel Time
Units Arriving
Mitigation Begins
Mitigation Completed
State of Normalcy Returns
The highlighted points in the chart above represent three segments that can be used for evaluation; call processing, turnout time, and travel time. Each of these components represent a different point in the response time continuum and through their measurement and evaluation areas for improvement can be identified. Below are the definitions for the three components:
• Call Processing is defined as beginning when the call taker answers the call and ends with the dispatching of appropriate emergency services. • Turnout Time is defined as beginning when the emergency service receives the call and is on the apparatus responding (wheels rolling) to the call. • Travel Time is defined as beginning when the apparatus and personnel begin the response (wheels rolling) and ends once on location of the emergency (wheels stopped).

Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data for 201 9, 2020, and 2021 was examined and evaluated. The data is not without issues such as coding problems, transcription errors, and equipment failures. The project team use d the following mechanism to address these issues.

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Only qualified data is us ed to calculate res pons e time and any related components . To be cons idered the data mus t meet the following criteria:
• The incident mus t have been unique.
• The incident mus t have involved at leas t one Fire Department unit being dis patched to the call.
• Calls that are mis s ing data are not us ed in the computations for call proces s ing, turnout time, travel time, or call duration.
• Any call with us ually long times or times s orted incorrectly (arrived before dis patch time) were removed.
• Non-emergency res pons es are removed; only emergency res pons es, Charlie, Delta, and Echo types , are included.

After filtering the data us ing the methodology outlined above, the remaining incidents repres ent the res ponse time for calls for s ervice handled by the Fire Department.

Call Processing
Performance Standards
Dis patch s ervices for the Sebas topol Fire Department are provided by REDCOM. NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems establishes the call processing benchmarks as outlined in the chart below.

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NFPA 1221 Performance Objective
Component Target Performance
Calls Answered
Within 15 seconds 90%
Within 20 seconds 95%
Call Processing Within 60 seconds 90%
Call Processing for:

These types of calls are exempt from
the call processing time illustrated
above.
* Language Translation
* TTY/TDD Device Services
* Hazardous Materials
* Technical Rescue
* Text Message
* Calls Received during a Disaster
* Unable to Determine Location
Both CPSE and ISO us e the 60 s econd call proces s ing time benchmark performance objective as outlined in NFPA 1221 for their requirements . NFPA 1720 does not addres s call proces s ing in any s tatements and does not reference NFPA 1221.

Sys tem Performance
The fire department does not have direct control over the dis patch center or the call proces s ing performance. The following table illus trates the performance of the REDCOM communications s ys tem.

All Emergency Calls –
90th Percentile Times
2019 -
2021 2019 2020 2021
Call Proces s ing Pick-up to Dis patch 1:33 1:26 1:34 1:36 The call proces s ing performance is illus trated here as it does have an impact on what the res ident or vis itor experiences if emergency services are needed.

Turnout Time
Performance Standards
NFPA 1720: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments in section 4.3.3 provides the following performance objectives for turnout time of staffed stations:

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• “One minute thirty s econds (90 s econds ) for turnout time for fire and s pecial operations .”
• “One minute (60 s econds ) for turnout time for emergency medical s ervices .” Sys tem Performance
It s hould be noted that NFPA does not provide a turnout time performance objective for volunteer (unstaffed) companies or s tations . The intent for illus trating uns taffed units is not to dis parage a volunteer (uns taffed) s ystem. In a volunteer s ys tem the pers onnel res pond from home to the fire s tation to get the apparatus before res ponding to the call for s ervice. This extends the turnout time, and it is what is expected of that type of s taffing model. It is s hown here s imply to illus trate how this time has an overall effect on the res pons e time continuum.

All Emergency Calls –
90th Percentile Times
2019 -
2021 2019 2020 2021
Turnout
Time 1st Unit
Medical Calls 5:40 5:15 5:41 6:09
Fire Calls 5:47 5:07 5:52 6:05
Distribution of Resources
Dis tribution of res ources is the meas ure of getting initial res ources to an emergency to begin mitigation efforts . It has als o been described as the s peed at which the firs t unit arrives at the emergency. The models meas ure this in a variety of ways including percentage of square miles , percentage of road miles and travel time. With the advent of GIS technology and improved computer aided dis patch (CAD) s ystems , the us e of actual travel time is another more accurate meas ure for the distribution of res ources.

Performance Standards
Travel time is a meas urable time s egment that begins when the apparatus and pers onnel begin the res pons e (wheels rolling) and ends once on location of the emergency (wheels s topped). It is the mos t appropriate measurement available for the dis tribution of res ources and has a proven record of developing s ucces s ful deployment of res ources .

NFPA 1720 does not provide a performance objective for the firs t arriving unit. Previous ly the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) had defined benchmark and bas eline res pons e times for each of the three components . They have s ince determined they are not a s tandard making organization and decided to leave the es tablis hment of res pons e time s tandards to others . However, their body of work is s ignificant and has been us ed Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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by numerous communities acros s the country. The following table highlights the performance objectives from the CPSE.

Service Area / Population Dens ity based Travel Time Performance Objectives Urban: Population density of over 1,000 per square mile 1st Unit 2nd Unit 1st Alarm Balance Performance
Benchmark 4 minutes 8 minutes 8 minutes 90%
Baseline 5 minutes/12
seconds
10 minutes 24
seconds
10 minutes/24
seconds 90%
Suburban: Population density between 500 and 1,000 per square mile Benchmark 5 minutes 8 minutes 10 minutes 90%
Baseline 6 minutes/30
seconds
10 minutes/24
seconds 13 minutes 90%
Rural: Population density of less than 500 per square mile Benchmark 10 minutes 14 minutes 14 minutes 90%
Baseline 13 minutes 18 minutes/12
seconds
18 minutes/12
seconds 90%
Sys tem Performance
The chart below illus trates the travel time performance of the Sebastopol Fire Department.

All Emergency Calls –
90th Percentile Times
2019 -
2021 2019 2020 2021
Travel Time 1s t Unit 3:16 3:02 3:15 3:28
As illus trated, the travel time for the firs t Sebas topol fire unit to arrive was 3 minutes and 16 s econds for 90% of the calls exceeding the travel time benchmark performance objective of 4 minutes .

Concentration of Resources
Concentration of res ources is generally des cribed as the ability of the fire protection s ys tem to get the appropriate number of pers onnel and res ources to the s cene of an emergency within a pres cribed time to effectively mitigate the incident. There are two parts to this component – the firs t is providing an effective res pons e force and the s econd is the amount of time to get thos e res ources in place.

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Performance Standards
The following table is from NFPA 1720 illus trating the res pons e time and s taffing for the response to structural fires . The res pons e time is meas ured from the time the call is received until the minimum staffing is on the s cene.

Demand Zone Demographics Minimum Staff Response Time Meets Objective Urban Greater than 1,000
per sq. mile 15 9 minutes 90%
Suburban Area 500 - 1,000 per sq.
mile 10 10 80%
Rural Area Less than 500 per
sq. mile 6 14 80%
Remote Area
Travel Distance
greater than /
equal to 8 miles
4 Dependent on
Travel Distance 90%
Sys tem Performance
Sebas topol fits the definition for an urban demographic with a population dens ity greater than 1,000 people per s quare mile. Bas ed on the previous table from NFPA 1720, the fire department s hould have a minimum of 15 pers onnel arriving in 9 minutes for 90% of the calls . The res pons e in Sebas topol for a s tructure fire includes apparatus from Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict and Graton Fire Protection Dis trict.

Computer Aided Dis patch (CAD) data was us ed for the evaluation of res ource concentration. To be cons idered for inclus ion the following conditions were required to be met:
• Calls for s ervice des ignated as a s tructure fire.
• All the units dis patched mus t have a recorded arrival time. An as s umption was made that if the unit did not arrive on s cene that it was cancelled while enroute.

The data used were from 2019, 2020, and 2021. For purpos es of this analys is , staffing of s uppres s ion apparatus was 2 pers onnel and any command or chief officer res pons es were counted as a s ingle pers on.

Over the pas t three years a total of 32 s tructure fire calls met the criteria as outlined. Of thos e 32 calls , 2 calls met the minimum of 15 pers onnel arriving on the s cene. Thes e two calls had a res pons e time of 15 minutes and 3 s econds and 15 minutes and 21 seconds.

Recall this res pons e time is from the time of dis patch to the time of arrival.

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Physical Resources
This chapter provides an analysis of the physical resources required to provide emergency services to the city.

Apparatus and Equipment
One of the more difficult tasks facing a community is the replacement of fire apparatus due in large part to available funding, the timing of when to replace and the cost associated with replacing the apparatus. As the apparatus ages, it becomes more difficult to maintain, less parts are available for replacement and the pumps begin to fail their annual testing. Like the distribution and concentration of resources, a one size fits all approach does not work well with apparatus. Some vehicles and apparatus do not last as long as others. This could be due to higher call volumes, extreme wear and tear and varied preventive maintenance measures.

An effective apparatus replacement program will have benchmarks established to drive the replacement schedule. These benchmarks should establish a replacement guideline to categorize the various units and their target replacement date, definitions for the determination of the condition of the vehicle and other criteria to be used in the evaluation of the vehicle. Many fire departments replace apparatus based on the age of the vehicle; one such type of schedule is illustrated in the following table.

Type of Apparatus Replacement Frequency
Engines and Rescue Every 25 years
Aerial or Ladder Apparatus Every 30 years
Ambulances Every 15 to 20 years
Other Vehicles As Needed
The following replacement guideline us es a point s ys tem to determine when a unit s hould be replaced. It utilizes a variety of factors s uch as mileage, reliability, and maintenance cos ts to s core the apparatus . The table that follows identifies thos e factors and the recommended point s ys tem to us e.

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Replacement Guidelines
Factor Points
Age One point for each year of chronological age.

Mileage / Engine Hours One point for each 10,000 miles or 1,000 engine hours.

Type of Service
Points are based on severity of service
5 points - Engine Company
3 Points - Aerial Ladders / Specialty Units
1 Point - Administrative Vehicles
Reliability
Points are based on the frequency a vehicle is in the
garage for repair
5 points - Two or more times per month (average)
3 Points - Two times every three months (average)
1 point - Once every three months (average)
M & R Costs
Maintenance and repair costs on the total life of the
vehicle, excluding accident damage.
5 points – M & R costs equal to or greater than
original purchase price
4 points – M & R costs 75% to equal to the original
purchase price.
3 points – M & R costs 50% to 75% of the original
purchase price
2 points – M & R cost 20% to 50% of the original
purchase price.
1 point – M & R costs 20% or less than original
purchase price.

Condition
Consideration given to body condition, rust, interior
condition, accident history, anticipated repairs, etc.
5 points - Poor Condition
4 points - Fair Condition
3 points - Good Condition
2 points - Very Good Condition
1 point - Excellent Condition
This s ys tem us es the major components typically cons idered in evaluating vehicles and then puts a numeric value to the vehicle. It can be adjus ted to fit the local pers pective.

For example, if the maintenance cos ts are a more important factor, then adjus ting the percentage to the original cos t will provide a higher weight to that category.

The following table outlines the total s core and the expected outcome of that s core.

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Replacement Guideline Scoring
Point Range Condition
Fewer than 18 points Condition I - Excellent
18 to 22 points Condition II - Good
23 to 27 points Condition III - Qualifies for Replacement 28 points and above Condition IV - Needs Immediate Consideration Another component to this type of s ys tem is the collaboration between the Fire Department and those involved in the maintenance of the fleet. All involved s hould dis cus s the res ults of the s urvey to determine the needs of the apparatus in terms of mechanical is s ues . It is pos s ible there is a unit or units that will need major repairs that would influence the decis ion to replace the apparatus.

The mos t important function of fire apparatus is the s afe movement of pers onnel and equipment to and from an emergency s cene and the inves tment in fire apparatus is a s ignificant endeavor for any community or fire dis trict. Changes in the s tandards by which they are built and the performance s tandards by which they are tes ted continue to evolve and have res ulted in rapidly increas ing cos ts for fire apparatus . A typical engine will cos t in the range of $600,000 to $750,000 depending on the manufacturer, configuration of the truck and other needs of the fire department. In addition, the aerial ladders will cos t in the range of $900,000 to $1.3 million again depending on the s ame variables . Many departments will borrow the funds to purchas e the apparatus while others will have s et as ide funds bas ed on the depreciation of the current apparatus and planned replacement s chedule.

Cons idering a replacement s chedule bas ed on age as outlined previous ly, the following lis t provides the year of replacement for the current apparatus and vehicles us ed by the fire department.

Unit ID Year Description Type Replacement Year
8381 FD 1990 Pierce Lance Type 1 Engine 2015
8340 FD 2008 Dodge ram 2500 Utility Pickup Truck 2018
8330 FD 1994 International Medium Rescue 2019
8361 1996 International Type 3 Engine 2021
B83 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Battalion Chief 2025
8300 FD 2018 Ford Explorer Fire Chief 2028
8343 2014 Klamath Rescue Boat 2029
8380 FD 2011 Pierce Velocity Type 1 Engine 2036
8350 FD 2012 Pierce Dash 105' Ladder Truck 2042
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As s hown, there is a Type 1 Engine, and Type 3 Engine, a Medium Res cue, and a utility vehicle that are beyond due to be replaced bas ed on age. The es timated cos t to replace thes e units is illus trated in the following table.

Unit ID Year Description Type Replacement Cost
8381 FD 1990 Pierce Lance Type 1 Engine $750,000
8340 FD 2008 Dodge ram 2500 Utility Pickup Truck $50,000 8330 FD 1994 International Medium Rescue $450,000
8361 1996 International Type 3 Engine $450,000
Total Estimated Replacement Cost $1,700,00
There are two additional items to consider with the estimated costs illustrated in the previous table. First, this considers the cost at the prices as of the writing of this report.

Increases in the cost of materials such as steel are driving the cost high er. One manufacturer is anticipating a 20% to 25% increase in the next six months. The second factor is the timing. Most manufacturers are quoting 28 to 32 months to deliver a Type 1 Engine. This means if the replacement for the 1990 Pierce Type 1 Engine was ordered in 2022, the truck would be 35 years old before its replacement arrived.

Recommendation:

Es tablis h and adopt a program that contains benchmarks and measurable components for the planned replacement of apparatus .

Fire Station Facilities
The fire s tation was toured in September 2022 and a “walk through” as s es sment of the facility’s exterior, interior, and technical s ys tems was completed. The evaluation is not bas ed on a detailed analys is , but rather as a broad index of each facility’s relative phys ical condition and viability. Conditions were rated on a s cale of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor, as defined below.
• Excellent – conditions are newly renovated or cons tructed, bas ic s tandards are met or exceeded.
• Good – conditions meet bas ic s tandards and potential exis ts for expans ion or redevelopment at low expens e.
• Fair – conditions may be reas onable for improvement or redevelopment at s ubs tantial expens e.
• Poor – conditions do not meet bas ic s tandards and have little potential for improvement without significant effort and res ources .

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Sebastopol Fire Station
7425 Bodega Avenue
Description of Use:

This is the sole station for the city. It houses the administrative offices for the fire department and the building department. The threes bays provide space for front -line and reserve apparatus
Overall Conditions of the Facility
Total Parking Spaces: 13 spaces in the front of the facility that are shared with Ceres Community Project. 13 spaces in the rear of the facility, some of which are used for storage of equipment.

ADA Parking Spaces: 6 in the front of the facility
Apron/Street Visibility: Fair – Front apron has enough space for apparatus to clear the facility.

Visibility to the east is limited as there is a curve in the road. Visibility to the west is good.

Accessibility Issues: Fair – There are two entrances to the parking areas, one in the front and one in the rear. There is no internal connection between the two parking areas.

Expansion Capability: Poor – With the exception of adding a second floor, expansion is limited to the west side of the apparatus bays with enough room to add a fourth bay.

Building Exterior
Exterior Walls: The overall condition of the exterior walls is fair. There is evidence of water leaks on the interior sections of the apparatus bays indicating the exterior walls are not secure.

Aprons: The overall condition of the aprons is fair. There are cracks noted in the concrete. There is not drainage in front of the apparatus bays Roof Drainage: Fair – Gutters along the front of the facility above the apparatus bays are leaking and causing the wood overhang to become rotted. The wood overhang on the rear of the facility was removed due to a similar issue.

Building Interior/Living Quarters
Overall The interior condition is fair.

Sleeping Quarters Poor – No sleeping quarters.

Restroom Facilities Poor – Two restroom facilities
Shower Facilities Poor – A single (unisex) shower is available and is located in the same room as the clothes washer.

Renovation Suitability Poor – Limited renovation availability Apparatus/Storage Areas
Apparatus Bays Three apparatus bays with enough depth for two apparatus PPE Storage Fair – All personal protective gear is stored in mobile racks in the apparatus bays
Exhaust System Good – Plymo-vent exhaust system is in place Decontamination Room None
Technical Systems
Plumbing: Fair Condition
Mechanical (HVAC): Fair Condition
Electrical: Building electric system has 6 circuit panels Lighting: Good Condition
Back-up Power: Generator is in place
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Storage is a s ignificant is s ue for the fire department. Not only are s ome of the parking s paces being us ed to s tore equipment but als o there are three 40’ s teel s torage containers being us ed to store equipment off s ite. In fact, thes e s torage containers are located at the public works facility and need to be removed to allow additional s torage for the public works department. Storage s pace at the fire s tation is non-exis tent as noted during the s tation tour with the pers onal protective equipment being s tored on mobile racks and other equipment being s tored along the walls of the apparatus bay.

The fire s tation does not have any capacity to hous e pers onnel for a 24-hour s hift. While there are murphy beds in the training room that could be us ed for emergency s taffing, other accommodations for s howers and res trooms are not available. This is s ue would need to be remedied prior to any pers onnel staying or living at the station for a 24-hour period.

With the current configuration of the s tation and the property, there are a number of methods to addres s the is s ues noted in this as s es sment. However, each method has their own is s ues as noted in the following points :
• Adding a s econd floor to the existing s tructure for living quarters provided the current structure has the s tructural integrity for this addition. • Adding a fourth apparatus bay or storage area to J ewell Street s ide of the building, provided the required setbacks can be met.
• There is limited expandability of the s tation as s ome of the parking areas are being us ed by others within the city block.
• Redes ign the facility by demolis hing the building and rebuilding with a newer des ign in the s pace.

The city s hould acquire the s ervices of a des ign profes s ional familiar with the des ign of modern fire stations and the planning and zoning regulations as there may be other options available. This will as s is t the city with the decis ions neces s ary to addres s the needs of the fire department and to have a facility capable of hous ing emergency crews on a 24-hour bas is .

Recommendation:

Acquire the s ervices of a des ign profess ional to provide alternatives to the city for alterations or redes ign of the fire station to provide for the needs of the fire department and the hous ing of crew members.

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Financial Resources
This chap ter provides an analysis of the financial resources required to provide emergency services to the city and includes a five-year projection.

Revenues
The city has a variety of revenue sources to support the operations of the city that include property taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, and transient occupancy taxes. For the past four year these taxes have increased an average of 2.5% annually. As illustrate d in the following table the average annual changes vary between these various sources.

Revenue Summary 2019 – 2020
Actual
2022 – 2023
Adopted Budget
Average Annual
Change
Property Tax $2,820,051 $3,153,610 3.9%
Sales Tax $3,697,725 $4,957,800 11.4%
Use Tax $763,643 $817,200 2.3%
Transient Occupancy Tax $518,175 $400,000 -7.6%
Franchise Fee $336,738 $370,000 3.3%
Licenses & Permits $449,875 $345,600 -7.7%
Fines & Forfeitures $48,171 $13,000 -24.3%
Interest and Rents $237,347 $68,500 -23.7%
Intergovernmental $1,729,540 $938,950 -15.2%
Charges for Current Services $179,196 $124,900 -10.1%
Other Revenue $555,280 $77,000 -28.7%
Transfer In $4,493 $102,500 727.1%
Total Revenues $11,340,234 $11,369,060 0.1%
The total average annual change for the pas t four years is 0.1%. This will be us ed to provide a projection for the revenues for the city as illus trated in the following table. 2022 – 2023
Budget
2023 – 2024
Projection
2024 – 2025
Projection
2025 – 2026
Projection
2026 – 2027
Projection
2027 – 2028
Projection
Revenues $11,369,060 $11,378,693 $11,388,334 $11,397,984 $11,407,641 $11,417,307 As noted, the general fund revenues increas ed annually by 0.1% for the pas t four years .

Bas ed on this pas t experience, the revenues for the 2027 – 2028 budget will be approximately $11,417,307.

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Expenditures
For the expenditures, the percentage change from 2021 – 2022 Estimated Actual to the 2022 – 2023 Adopted Budget was used. This was done to provide a more re alistic financial projection.

Description 2021 - 2022
Estimated Actual
2022 - 2023
Adopted Budget
Pct.

Difference
Salaries $283,600 $311,400 9.8%
Overtime $500 $1,500 200.0%
Salaries - Part Time (Shift) $77,600 $77,200 -0.5%
Salaries - Part Time (Calls/Drills) $150,000 $150,000 0.0% Salaries - Part Time (Captain Weekends) $28,400 $28,800 1.4% Salaries - Part Time (Retention) $80,000 $80,000 0.0%
Benefits $193,800 $200,800 3.6%
Health In-Lieu $2,550 $2,550 0.0%
Accrual In-Lieu $0 $46,000 0.0%
Medicare + FICA $60,000 $60,000 0.0%
Retiree Health Insurance (OPEB) $4,300 $4,300 0.0%
Fire Service CSFA Award $4,200 $4,200 0.0%
Fire Disability Insurance $3,100 $3,200 3.2%
Contract Services $61,000 $68,000 11.5%
Office Supplies $2,000 $2,000 0.0%
Misc. Supplies & Services $33,000 $39,050 18.3%
Dues / Subscriptions $13,200 $13,500 2.3%
Equipment Maintenance $25,200 $25,000 -0.8%
Vehicle Maintenance $23,500 $27,500 17.0%
Vehicle Fuel $20,000 $25,500 27.5%
Meetings & Travel $9,000 $10,000 11.1%
Utilities - Gas & Electric $5,000 $5,000 0.0%
Utilities - City Use $3,000 $3,000 0.0%
Telecommunications $7,200 $7,700 6.9%
Allocated Liability Insurance $49,200 $57,600 17.1%
Allocated Workers' Comp Insurance $51,900 $59,700 15.0% Total Operations Expenditures $1,191,250 $1,313,500 10.3% To provide a more realis tic increas e in the operational expenditures , only a s ingle year was evaluated. In the 2019 – 2020 budget, there were no expenditures s hown for Accrual In-Lieu and for Vehicle Fuel. Including thes e line items in a four-year evaluation would have increas ed the average annual increas e to 11.6% overall. Note b in the 2022 – 2023 adopted budget indicated a $40,000 one-time expenditure that als o would have provided an inflated increas e. This amount was removed for the purpos es of this evaluation.

Likewis e in 2020, there was an additional full-time employee added that created a 37% Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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increas e in s alaries . This addition increas ed the four-year annual average by approximately 10% that inflated the s ame four-year evaluation.

Us ing the 10.3% increas e in operational expenditures , the following table illus trates the operational expenditures for the next five years.
2022 –
2023
Budget
2023 –
2024
Projection
2024 –
2025
Projection
2025 –
2026
Projection
2026 –
2027
Projection
2027 –
2028
Projection
Operations
Expenditures $1,313,500 $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506 $2,140,750 Us ing an annual increas e of 10.3%, the operational expenditures will be approximately $2,140,750 in the 2027 – 2028 fis cal. This as s umes there are no changes to the operations of the fire department.

Volunteer Stipends
Many fire departments and fire dis tricts acros s the country provide a s tipend to their volunteers , including the City of Sebas topol. It s hould be noted, there are Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations that must be followed in the dis pers ing of thes e s tipends . A volunteer is defined as an individual that receives no compens ation or is paid expens es , reas onable benefits , or a nominal fee to perform the s ervices the individual volunteered to perform.

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• The Department finds that the fee paid is (apart from expens es ) nominal as long as it does not exceed 20 percent of the amount that otherwis e would be required to hire a permanent employee for the s ame s ervices . For example, if a volunteer firefighter s taffs the equivalent of three s hifts during a month, the nominal fee s hould not exceed 20 percent of what it would cos t to employ a firefighter to s taff these three s hifts .

The International Fire Chief’s As s ociation (IAFC) pos ed s everal hypothetical s cenarios to the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL found the following payments may qualify as nominal fees .

Amount of
Payment Requirements Additional Payments Average Worked (Minimum) $1,200 per year
Regardless of number of
shifts or amount of time
spent responding to
calls
n/a 24 s hifts and/ or 60 hours
res ponding to calls per year
$100 per month
Regardles s of number of
s hifts or amount of time
s pent res ponding to
calls
n/a 4 s hifts and/ or 8 hours
res ponding to calls per month
$100 per month
Minimum of 2 s hifts
and/ or 5 hours
res ponding to calls
$25 for each
additional s hift over
4 and/ or each
additional 2.5 hours
responding to calls
over 12 hours
n/a
$25 per 4-hour
block of time
Regardles s of the
amount of time s pent at
the s tation hous e or
res ponding to calls
n/a n/a
$20 per shift
Regardles s of the length
of s hift or amount of
time s pent res ponding to
calls
n/a 6-hour s hift and/ or 2 hours
res ponding to calls per s hift
$25
Minimum of 8 hours per
s hift and/ or 2.5 hours
res ponding to calls
$15 per s hift that
exceeds 8 hours
and/ or 5 or more
hours res ponding to
calls
n/a
$15,000 annual fee n/a n/a 3,000 hours waiting and
res ponding to calls per year*
$20 per shift
Regardles s of the length
of s hift or amount of
time s pent res ponding to
calls
Fee increas es by $1
per s hift for each
year with a
minimum of 12
s hifts **
n/a
Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Amount of
Payment Requirements Additional Payments Average Worked (Minimum) * Fair Labor Standards found that the payment of $15,000 annually may qualify as nominal under the 20% rule but also observed that 3,000 hours of service or 57 hours a week is an excessive number of hours for an individual to be considered a volunteer.

The International As s ociation of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) pos ed thes e hypothetical s cenarios to obtain guidance in the application of the Department of Labor (DOL) rules and regulations pertaining to stipends for volunteer firefighters . This table s hould not be cons idered as a final determination from the DOL in the application of their rules and regulations . While it does provide guidance in the application of thes e rules and regulations , it remains the res pons ibility of the fire departments and fire dis tricts to ens ure they are in compliance.

In Sebas topol, volunteer staff pos itions are paid a $200 s tipend for an 8-hour s hift at the fire station. Off-duty volunteer firefighters that res pond to s pecified calls are paid a $15 s tipend per 2-hour respons e, any calls over the 2-hour res pons e is paid $20.00 per hour labeled as overtime in the following table. The table below outlines the stipends paid to the volunteer s taff.

Rank Fire Calls Fire Drills Fire Shifts
Firefighter $15.00 $15.00 $200
Captain $15.00 $18.00 $200
Captain Weekend s tandby $500.00
As s is tant Chief $15.00 $20.00 $200
Overtime $20.00
In addition to the s tipends paid in accordance with the above table, the department funds an additional $20,000 per quarter ($80k per year) retention stipend that is paid quarterly, bas ed upon the number of emergency res pons es . This funding originally began as a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Res pons e (SAFER) grant at $100,000 per year. The funding was dis continued in 2015, however was reins tated to enhance recruitment and retention.

The rule stipulates that any s tipend for volunteer pers onnel cannot exceed 20% of the cos t for a full-time employee, the regulations do not cons ider overtime or benefits of the full-time employee in the calculation. Stipend payments to volunteer members mus t als o cons ider any benefits provided to the member s uch as life ins urance, retirement or other s uch benefits . While the us e of s tipends is legal and permitted, fire dis tricts and fire departments s hould be careful not to us e s tipends in lieu of a regular s alary which could violate the regulations .

Within the fire department there is a s ingle career pos ition that performs duties s imilar to a volunteer s taff member. Us ing the annual pay from the mos t current pay rate approved Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 60
by the city council, the Step A annual rate for this pos ition is $71,549. Applying the 20% rule from the FLSA rules means the volunteer s taff member may only be paid $14,309 per year. This is jus t under the $15,000 annual fee noted in the previous table.

A part of the res pons e to the wildfires in California includes the res pons e from various cities and fire dis tricts acros s the state. In return, the state pays a fee for the rental of the apparatus and pays for thos e that res pond with that apparatus . The city receives the pay for the pers onnel from the s tate and pas s es that to the pers onnel. The following table illus trates the volunteer s tipends paid to the pers onnel for work in the city, the monies paid as a part of the wildfire res pons e, and the total for each volunteer s taff member.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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2019 2020 2021
Staff Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total
FF30 $53,314 $31,604 $84,918 $58,085 $29,569 $87,654 $52,626 $76,389 $129,015 FF4 $19,050 $11,344 $30,394 $27,066 $46,999 $74,065 $30,089 $50,376 $80,465 FF23 $6,021 $41,748 $47,769 $6,891 $59,507 $66,398 $9,218 $63,321 $72,539 FF9 $4,235 $0 $4,235 $32,341 $38,607 $70,948 $33,434 $16,988 $50,422 FF28 $16,757 $11,063 $27,820 $18,000 $41,082 $59,082 $22,532 $22,689 $45,221 FF2 $7,005 $0 $7,005 $7,436 $2,700 $10,136 $12,028 $20,307 $32,335 FF29 $14,111 $0 $14,111 $12,820 $20,344 $33,164 $10,146 $13,039 $23,185 FF31 $22,122 $3,150 $25,272 $19,388 $8,719 $28,107 $15,141 $4,691 $19,832 FF17 $17,886 $9,338 $27,224 $20,852 $26,644 $47,496 $18,615 $0 $18,615 FF11 $20,189 $0 $20,189 $15,293 $2,250 $17,543 $17,290 $0 $17,290 FF3 $16,976 $0 $16,976 $14,315 $0 $14,315 $13,868 $0 $13,868 FF19 $2,451 $0 $2,451 $26,510 $0 $26,510 $11,867 $0 $11,867 FF8 $13,155 $0 $13,155 $12,596 $0 $12,596 $10,192 $0 $10,192 FF26 $2,530 $0 $2,530 $6,089 $0 $6,089 $9,670 $0 $9,670 FF22 $13,952 $10,153 $24,105 $8,338 $0 $8,338 $4,683 $0 $4,683 FF25 $9,588 $0 $9,588 $9,222 $0 $9,222 $4,592 $0 $4,592 FF10 $9,715 $5,400 $15,115 $5,260 $0 $5,260 $3,683 $0 $3,683 FF1 $14,203 $10,153 $24,356 $3,992 $0 $3,992 $3,474 $0 $3,474 FF12 $4,117 $0 $4,117 $5,456 $900 $6,356 $3,139 $0 $3,139 FF6 $19,640 $1,800 $21,440 $14,889 $900 $15,789 $2,939 $0 $2,939 FF15 $10,229 $6,432 $16,661 $5,314 $900 $6,214 $2,226 $0 $2,226 FF20 $18,032 $2,250 $20,282 $5,562 $0 $5,562 $668 $0 $668 FF24 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $203 $0 $203
FF13 $3,842 $0 $3,842 $728 $0 $728 $146 $0 $146
FF5 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
FF7 $415 $0 $415 $167 $0 $167 $0 $0 $0
FF14 $3,187 $0 $3,187 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
FF16 $463 $0 $463 $28 $0 $28 $0 $0 $0
Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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2019 2020 2021
Staff Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total Sebastopol
Outside
Service Total
FF18 $7,356 $0 $7,356 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
FF21 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
FF27 $18,873 $2,250 $21,123 $13,309 $900 $14,209 $0 $0 $0 Total Cost $349,413 $146,685 $496,098 $349,946 $280,021 $629,967 $292,468 $267,800 $560,268 As illus trated, eleven of the volunteer s taff members are over $15,000 for the year in 2020 and ten are over $15,000 for the year in 2021 in total compens ation. In 2020 there were eight volunteer s taff members over $15,000 and in 2021 there were s even volunteer s taff members over $15,000 in compens ation from the city alone.

With the pay from California for the res pons e to wildfires being pass ed through the city, it is unclear how this may impact the rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act. If thos e payment are exempt from the FLSA rules , there are still a number of volunteer members that are exceeding the $15,000 limit and the 20% rule for career employees . In any ins tance, the city s hould engage profes s ional as s is tance to addres s the Fair Labor Standards Act and the pay is s ues involving the s tipends being paid to the volunteer staff of the fire department.

Recommendation:

The city s hould engage a workforce s pecialis t with expertis e in stipend pay s ys tems and the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide guidance on the us e of s tipend funds and related volunteer pay s ys tems .

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Emergency Services Alternatives – Enhanced Status Quo
The current delivery of emergency services in the City of Sebastopol utilizes a career Fire Chief, a career Engineer, with the balance of the staffing being volunteer. Resources for the city are housed and respond from a single fire station with automatic and mutual aid available from the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District and the Graton Fire Protection District.

Emergency Service System Performance
Response time has three components, call processing, turnout time, and travel time. As noted in a previous chapter, the fire department does not have control over the call processing time as that is controlled by REDCOM. Travel time is not controllable by the fire department as it is primarily a result of resource location. Turnout time is a controllable component within the response time continuum. The following table illustrates the response time components for the past three years for the Sebastopol Fire Department.

All Emergency Calls –
90th Percentile Times
2019 –
2021 2019 2020 2021
Call Processing 1:33 1:26 1:34 1:36
Turnout Time
Medical Calls 5:40 5:15 5:41 6:09
Fire Calls 5:47 5:07 5:52 6:05
Travel Time 3:16 3:02 3:15 3:28
Total FD Response 7:51 7:22 7:48 8:35
Total Response 9:46 8:54 9:47 10:30
The Total Fire Department Res pons e illus trated in the previous table represents the res pons e time from the time the fire department receives the call until the first Sebas topol fire unit arrives. For example, in 2021 the fire department res ponded to the call in 8 minutes and 35 s econds 90% of the time.

The Total Response provides the perspective of the caller measuring the time from when the call is placed until the first Sebastopol fire unit arrives. In 2021, the residents experienced a response time of 10 minutes and 30 seconds for 90% of the calls.

Enhancing System Performance
Turnout time is a component of the res ponse time continuum that is controllable by the fire department. However, with a volunteer s taffing model this time is not as controllable Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 64
as the s ys tem relies on the availability of pers onnel to res pond from outs ide the s tation.

Staffing a unit at the s tation will reduce the turnout time and the overall res pons e time as the pers onnel will be at the station and not res ponding from home.

Within the current s ystem, the city provides an Engineer (career pos ition) on a Monday through Thurs day s chedule. There is 1 volunteer stipend pos ition seven days a week for an eight-hour s hift that is paid a $200 s tipend at an annual cos t of $73,000. This s ys tem relies on a s econd pers on to res pond to the call for s ervice during the daytime hours.

The addition of a s taffed unit will reduce the turnout time and improve the overall res pons e time to calls for s ervice. The following table compares the turnout time between the Sebas topol Fire Department and the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict.

Turnout Time –
90th Percentile Times
2019 –
2021 2019 2020 2021
Sebastopol
Medical Calls 5:40 5:15 5:41 6:09
Fire Calls 5:47 5:07 5:52 6:05
Gold Ridge Medical Calls 2:48 2:54 2:38 2:51
Fire Calls 2:02 2:08 1:47 2:15
As noted previous ly, the NFPA does not provide a turnout time performance objective for volunteer (unstaffed) companies or s tations. The intent for this comparis on is not to dis parage a volunteer (uns taffed) s ys tem. In a volunteer s ys tem the pers onnel res pond from home to the fire s tation to get the apparatus before res ponding to the call for s ervice. This extends the turnout time, and it is what is expected of that type of s taffing model. It is s hown here to illus trate the effect a s taffed station can have on the overall res pons e time continuum.

Twenty-Four Hour Staffing
Improving the performance of the exis ting fire department will neces s itate the addition of a s taffed unit in the fire s tation. The staffed unit would be s taffed 24 hours a day for 365 days a year. This can be accomplis hed us ing volunteer pers onnel.

As noted, there is a s tipend volunteer during the day that receives $200 for an eight-hour s hift that trans lates to $25 per hour. In this s taffing model, us ing the exis ting s hift s tipend a 24-hour s hift with three pers onnel per s hift would cos t the city $1,800 per s hift. Annually this cos t would be $657,000 for s hift s taffing. This model would allow for the s taffed unit to handle a large number of the calls thereby reducing the need for additional pers onnel to res pond and reducing the cos t of these res pons es . The following table illus trates the cos t for s taffing a 24-hour s hift.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Propos ed 24 Hour Shift $657,000
Part Time Salaries (Shift) (Three Year Avg.) $80,726
Sub-Total $576,274
Single Company Calls (Three Year Avg.) $36,450
Total Net Increase $539,824
In the previous table the part -time salaries for the shift are an average of two years of actual expenditures and the estimated actual for 2021 – 2022 fiscal year. Medical calls, auto accidents, hazardous conditions, service calls, and good intent call were considered single company calls. Based on three years of data, an average of 810 calls were used with an average of 3 personnel at $15 per call was used to establish the cost. As illustrated, the cost to deliver services using a 24-hour staffing model wo uld increase the current cost by approximately $539,824.

Considering the FLSA requirements, to maintain each stipend volunteer member under $14,000 per year there will need to be additional volunteer staff added to the fire department. Recall the $14,000 annual stipend is approximately 20% of Step A of the base pay for the career Engineer.
$657,000 (Total Cost) = 46.92 Volunteer Staff Members $14,000 (Annual Stipend Ceiling) To keep each of the stipend volunteer members at or under the $14,000 FLSA ceiling, the system will need approximately 47 volunteer members just to serve the 24-hour staffing model. Additional volunteer staff will be needed to provide support and add to th e response capability of the fire department. Although these may change based on a review and recommendations from a workforce and pay specialist. To acquire the additional volunteer staff needed to staff the station, the city would likely need to go outside the city and recruit non-resident volunteers.

Financial Impacts
In a previous chapter the financial res ources were analyzed and a projection for the fire department was included. The following table provides a five-year projection bas ed on a 24-hour s taffed unit using s tipend volunteer pers onnel.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 66
Financial Res ources Projection – 24 Hour Stipend Volunteer Staffing Line Item
2022 – 2023
Adopted
Budget
2023 – 2024
Projection
2024 – 2025
Projection
2025 – 2026
Projection
2026 – 2027
Projection
2027 – 2028
Projection
Salaries $311,400 $341,925 $375,442 $412,245 $452,656 $497,028 Overtime $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500
Salaries - Part Time (Shift) $77,200 $657,000 $657,000 $657,000 $657,000 $657,000 Salaries - Part Time (Calls/Drills) $150,000 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 Salaries Part Time (Captain Weekends) $28,800 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Salaries - Part Time (Retention) $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 Total Salaries Expenditures $648,900 $1,193,975 $1,227,492 $1,264,295 $1,304,706 $1,349,078 Benefits $200,800 $208,053 $215,568 $223,354 $231,421 $239,780 Health in-Lieu $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 Accrual In -Lieu $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 Medicare / FICA $60,000 $26,272 $28,836 $31,652 $34,743 $38,137 RetireeHealth Insurance (OPEB) $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 Total Personnel Expenditures $962,550 $1,481,150 $1,524,746 $1,572,151 $1,623,720 $1,679,845 Fire Service CSFA Award $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 Fire Disability Insurance $3,200 $3,303 $3,410 $3,520 $3,633 $3,751 Contract Services $68,000 $75,803 $84,502 $94,199 $105,009 $117,059 Office Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Misc. Supplies and Services $39,050 $46,209 $54,681 $64,706 $76,568 $90,606 Dues/Subscriptions $13,500 $13,807 $14,121 $14,442 $14,770 $15,105 Equipment Maintenance $25,000 $24,802 $24,605 $24,409 $24,216 $24,024 Vehicle Maintenance $27,500 $32,181 $37,658 $44,068 $51,569 $60,347 Vehicle Fuel $25,500 $32,513 $41,453 $52,853 $67,388 $85,919 Meetings/Travel $10,000 $11,111 $12,346 $13,717 $15,242 $16,935 Utilities - Gas and Electric $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Utilities - City Use $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Telecommunications $7,700 $8,235 $8,807 $9,418 $10,072 $10,772 Allocated Liability Insurance $57,600 $67,434 $78,947 $92,426 $108,206 $126,680 Allocated Workers' Comp Insurance $59,700 $68,672 $78,993 $90,865 $104,521 $120,229 Total Supplies and Maintenance $350,950 $398,270 $453,722 $518,823 $595,394 $685,627 Total Operational Expenditures $1,313,500 $1,879,420 $1,978,469 $2,090,974 $2,219,114 $2,365,472 Existing Fire Department Projection $1,313,500 $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506 $2,140,750 Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 67
There are a couple of items that need to be addres s ed from the previous table. Recall the contract s ervices line item had a one-time cos t as s ess ed. This was eliminated to provide a realis tic projection. The part-time s hift s alaries increas ed s ignificantly, however; the weekend duty officer was eliminated as the s taffed unit would have an officer as s igned to the unit. The Medicare/ FICA rate is 7.65% of s alaries and there are no taxes taken from the s tipend payments ,s o this amount was reduced in the projection.

Staffing Challenges
There is a challenge for this s taffing model that is the condition of the fire s tation. The facilities are not adequate to hous e pers onnel for a 24-hour period. The us e of a modular trailer to create a temporary living s pace for the 24-hour pers onnel is an option. This is a unit that would be placed outs ide in the parking lot to provide living s pace while the conditions of the fire s tation are addres s ed. This option als o presents iss ues s uch as us ing exis ting parking s paces exacerbating the exis ting lack of parking s paces . The cos t for this option will vary depending on the s ize and configuration of the trailer as well as any utilities that will be required to make it habitable.

Sixteen Hour Staffing
Another option would be to provi de a staffed unit for less than a 24 -hour period. As illustrated in the following graph the busiest hours of the day begin at the 8 am hour and slowing at the 10 pm hour.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 68
Adding a s taffed unit for the 16-hour period, from 7 am through 10 pm, would provide an immediate res pons e to calls for s ervice during that part of the day that has the heavies t call volume. Volunteer s taff would then handle thos e calls overnight and s upplement the daytime crews for thos e calls requiring additional res ources . It would als o reduce the volunteer res pons e to thos e s ingle company calls s uch as medical calls . This s taffing model would eliminate the need for temporary facilities and improve the provis ion of s ervices to a large portion of the calls for s ervice.

The s econd option includes s taffing for 16 hours per day at a cos t of $400 per s tipend volunteer firefighter and s taffing a unit with three pers onnel would be $1,200 per s hift.

Annually this cos t would be $438,000 for s hift s taffing.

In this s taffing model, us ing the exis ting s hift s tipend a 16-hour s hift with three pers onnel per s hift would cos t the city $1,200 per 16 hour s hift. Annually this cos t would be $438,000 for s hift s taffing. As with the 24-hour s taffing model this would allow for the s taffed unit to handle a large number of the calls thereby reducing the need for additional pers onnel to res pond and reducing the cos t of thes e res pons es . The following table illus trates the cost for s taffing a 16-hour s hift.

Propos ed 16 Hour Shift $438,000
Part Time Salaries (Shift) (Three Year Avg.) $80,726
Sub-Total $357,274
Single Company Calls (Three Year Avg.) $31,365
Total Net Increase $325,909
In the previous table the part -time salaries for the shift are an average of two years of actual expenditures and the estimated actual for 2021 – 2022 fiscal year. Medical calls, auto accidents, hazardous conditions, service calls, and good intent call were considered 0 50
100
150
200
250
12 am 3 am 6 am 9 am 12 pm 3 pm 6 pm 9 pm
2019- 2021 Calls by Time of Day
Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 69
s ingle company calls . Bas ed on three years of data, an average of 697 calls were us ed with an average of 3 pers onnel at $15 per call was us ed to es tablis h the cos t. Only those calls between 7 am and 10 pm were cons idered. As illus trated, the cos t to deliver s ervices us ing a 16-hour s taffing model would increas e the cos t by approximately $325,909.

Cons idering the FLSA requirements , to maintain each s tipend volunteer member under $14,000 per year there will need to be additional volunteer s taff added to the fire department. Recall the $14,000 annual s tipend is approximately 20% of Step A of the bas e pay for the career Engineer.
$438,000 (Total Cos t) = 31.28 Volunteer Staff Members $14,000 (Annual Stipend Ceiling) To keep each of the s tipend volunteer members at or under the $14,000 FLSA ceiling, the s ys tem will need approximately 32 volunteer members just to s erve the 16-hour s taffing model. Additional volunteer staff will be needed to provide s upport and add to the res pons e capability of the fire department. Although thes e may change bas ed on a review and recommendations from a workforce and pay s pecialis t. To acquire the additional volunteer s taff needed to s taff the station, the city would likely need to go outs ide the city and recruit non-res ident volunteers .

It s hould be noted in the previous two tables only the pers onnel cos ts for the s taffing of the res pons e apparatus are cons idered. Staffing a s ingle apparatus with three s tipend pers onnel allows the current Engineer to focus on ris k reduction activities . As well the fire s tation renovation and fire apparatus replacement cos ts will need to be addres s ed. Thes e costs do not change.

Financial Impacts
In a previous chapter the financial res ources were analyzed and a projection for the fire department was included. The following table provides a five-year projection bas ed on a 16-hour s taffed unit using s tipend volunteer pers onnel.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
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Financial Res ources Projection – 16 Hour Stipend Volunteer Staffing Line Item
2022 – 2023
Adopted
Budget
2023 – 2024
Projection
2024 – 2025
Projection
2025 – 2026
Projection
2026 – 2027
Projection
2027 – 2028
Projection
Salaries $311,400 $341,925 $375,442 $412,245 $452,656 $497,028 Overtime $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500
Salaries - Part Time (Shift) $77,200 $438,000 $438,000 $438,000 $438,000 $438,000 Salaries - Part Time (Calls/Drills) $150,000 $118,635 $118,635 $118,635 $118,635 $118,635 Salaries Part Time (Captain Weekends) $28,800 $28,800 $28,800 $28,800 $28,800 $28,800 Salaries - Part Time (Retention) $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 Total Salaries Expenditures $648,900 $1,008,860 $1,042,377 $1,079,180 $1,119,591 $1,163,963 Benefits $200,800 $208,053 $215,568 $223,354 $231,421 $239,780 Health in-Lieu $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 Accrual In -Lieu $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 Medicare / FICA $60,000 $26,272 $28,836 $31,652 $34,743 $38,137 Retiree Health Insurance (OPEB) $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 Total Personnel Expenditures $962,550 $1,296,035 $1,339,631 $1,387,036 $1,438,605 $1,494,730 Fire Service CSFA Award $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 Fire Disability Insurance $3,200 $3,303 $3,410 $3,520 $3,633 $3,751 Contract Services $68,000 $75,803 $84,502 $94,199 $105,009 $117,059 Office Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Misc. Supplies and Services $39,050 $46,209 $54,681 $64,706 $76,568 $90,606 Dues/Subscriptions $13,500 $13,807 $14,121 $14,442 $14,770 $15,105 Equipment Maintenance $25,000 $24,802 $24,605 $24,409 $24,216 $24,024 Vehicle Maintenance $27,500 $32,181 $37,658 $44,068 $51,569 $60,347 Vehicle Fuel $25,500 $32,513 $41,453 $52,853 $67,388 $85,919 Meetings/Travel $10,000 $11,111 $12,346 $13,717 $15,242 $16,935 Utilities - Gas and Electric $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Utilities - City Use $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Telecommunications $7,700 $8,235 $8,807 $9,418 $10,072 $10,772 Allocated Liability Insurance $57,600 $67,434 $78,947 $92,426 $108,206 $126,680 Allocated Workers' Comp Insurance $59,700 $68,672 $78,993 $90,865 $104,521 $120,229 Total Supplies and Maintenance $350,950 $398,270 $453,722 $518,823 $595,394 $685,627 Total Operational Expenditures $1,313,500 $1,694,305 $1,793,354 $1,905,859 $2,033,999 $2,180,357 Existing Fire Department Projection $1,313,500 $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506 $2,140,750 Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 71
There are a couple of items that need to be addres s ed from the previous table. Recall the contract s ervices line item had a one-time cos t as s ess ed. This was eliminated to provide a realis tic projection. The part-time s hift s alaries increas ed s ignificantly, however the weekend duty officer was maintained unlike the 24-hour staffing model. The Medicare/ FICA rate is 7.65% of s alaries and there are no taxes taken from the stipend payments s o this amount was reduced in the projection.

Combination System
A combination fire department is another option to enhance the current operations of the fire department. In this option, career personnel would be introduced to the operational aspects of the department with stipend volunteer personnel to supplement the staffed unit and any responses requiring additional support.

Job classifications and pay rates for the fire department are limited to the Fire Chief and Engineer with other positions considered stipend employees. Pay classifications between the city and Gold Ridge Fire Protection District are similar for the positio n of Engineer. The city has a base salary of $71,549 for step A and the district has a base salary of $73,642 for step one.

For this evaluation, the assumption for scheduling is 24-hour coverage, three 24-hour shifts. Second, using the Gold Ridge Fire Pro tection District pay scales provides a reasonable salary range for compensation. For the purposes of this evaluation, Step 1 of the pay scales will be used to illustrate the personnel costs. Finally, each shift will be supervised by a Captain, using the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District staffing model. The following table illustrates the cost for a Captain and an Engineer.

Captain Engineer
Step 1 Base Pay $89,527 $73,642
Scheduled OT $2,391 $1,967
PERS $23,991 $19,734
Health $23,000 $23,000
Dental/Vision $2,000 $2,000
Medicare $1,333 $1,096
Disability $1,000 $1,000
W Comp $9,546 $7,852
Total Cost $152,787 $130,291
For purposes of this evaluation, PERS is calculated at 26.1%, Medicare is 1.45% and workers compensation is calculated at 10.4% of the base pay and scheduled OT.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 72
Staffing for the 24 hours s hifts will require 3 full-time pers onnel in each pos ition for a total of 6 full-time pers onnel. To complete the staffing model, a stipend volunteer would be us ed for each s hift at a cos t of $200 per s hift for an annual cos t of $73,000.

Position Number of Personnel Cost per Person Total Cost Captain 3 $152,787 $458,361
Engineer 3 $130,291 $390,873
Stipend Volunteer $200 $73,000
Total Cost $922,234
This repres ents the bas e cos t for a three pers on s taffed unit. It does not addres s any overtime that may be needed due to s ick leave or other forms of leave s uch as vacation.

With the $73,000 for the s tipend volunteer, the number of volunteer s taff members is reduced.
$73,000 (Total Cos t) = 5.21 Volunteer Staff Members $14,000 (Annual Stipend Ceiling) To keep each of the s tipend volunteer members at or under the $14,000 FLSA ceiling, the s ys tem will need approximately 6 volunteer members jus t to s erve the 24 hour combination s taffing model. With the current 30 s taff members on the ros ter, this would allow for the s tipend volunteers to fill in as needed for leave time and to provide s upport for thos e incidents where additional pers onnel are needed. Although thes e may change bas ed on a review and recommendations from a workforce and pay s pecialis t.

Staffing Challenges
The challenge for this s taffing model is the same as the 24-hour s tipend volunteer option and that is the condition of the fire station. The facilities are not adequate to hous e pers onnel for a 24-hour period. The us e of a modular trailer to create a temporary living space for the 24-hour pers onnel is an option. This is a unit that would be placed outs ide in the parking lot to provide living s pace while the conditions of the fire s tation are addres s ed. This option als o pres ents iss ues s uch as us ing exis ting parking s paces exacerbating the exis ting lack of parking s paces . The cos t for this option will vary depending on the s ize and configuration of the trailer as well as any utilities that will be required to make it habitable.

Financial Comparis on
In a previous chapter the financial res ources were analyzed and a projection for the fire department was included. The following table provides a five-year projection bas ed on a combination s taffing model us ing career and volunteer pers onnel.

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Matrix Cons ulting Group 73
Financial Res ources Projection – Combination Staffing Model Line Item
2022 – 2023
Adopted
Budget
2023 – 2024
Projection
2024 – 2025
Projection
2025 – 2026
Projection
2026 – 2027
Projection
2027 – 2028
Projection
Salaries $311,400 $813,981 $893,772 $981,384 $1,077,585 $1,183,215 Overtime $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500
Salaries - Part Time (Shift) $77,200 $73,000 $73,000 $73,000 $73,000 $73,000 Salaries - Part Time (Calls/Drills) $150,000 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 $113,550 Salaries Part Time (Captain Weekends) $28,800 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Salaries - Part Time (Retention) $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 $80,000 Total Salaries Expenditures $648,900 $1,082,031 $1,161,822 $1,249,434 $1,345,635 $1,451,265 Benefits $200,800 $487,975 $505,601 $523,863 $542,784 $562,390 Health in-Lieu $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 $2,550 Accrual In -Lieu $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 $46,000 Medicare / FICA $60,000 $62,384 $68,488 $75,191 $82,550 $90,631 Retiree Health Insurance (OPEB) $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 $4,300 Total Personnel Expenditures $962,550 $1,685,240 $1,788,761 $1,901,337 $2,023,819 $2,157,136 Fire Service CSFA Award $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 $4,200 Fire Disability Insurance $3,200 $3,303 $3,410 $3,520 $3,633 $3,751 Contract Services $68,000 $75,803 $84,502 $94,199 $105,009 $117,059 Office Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Misc. Supplies and Services $39,050 $46,209 $54,681 $64,706 $76,568 $90,606 Dues/Subscriptions $13,500 $13,807 $14,121 $14,442 $14,770 $15,105 Equipment Maintenance $25,000 $24,802 $24,605 $24,409 $24,216 $24,024 Vehicle Maintenance $27,500 $32,181 $37,658 $44,068 $51,569 $60,347 Vehicle Fuel $25,500 $32,513 $41,453 $52,853 $67,388 $85,919 Meetings/Travel $10,000 $11,111 $12,346 $13,717 $15,242 $16,935 Utilities - Gas and Electric $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Utilities - City Use $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Telecommunications $7,700 $8,235 $8,807 $9,418 $10,072 $10,772 Allocated Liability Insurance $57,600 $67,434 $78,947 $92,426 $108,206 $126,680 Allocated Workers' Comp Insurance $59,700 $68,672 $78,993 $90,865 $104,521 $120,229 Total Supplies and Maintenance $350,950 $398,270 $453,722 $518,823 $595,394 $685,627 Total Operational Expenditures $1,313,500 $2,083,510 $2,242,483 $2,420,161 $2,619,213 $2,842,763 Existing Fire Department Projection $1,313,500 $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506 $2,140,750 Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 74
There are a couple of items that need to be addres s ed from the previous table. Recall the contract s ervices line item had a one-time cos t as s ess ed. This was eliminated to provide a realis tic projection. The s alaries increas ed s ignificantly, and part-time s hift s alaries were reduced. The weekend duty officer was eliminated as the s taffed unit would have an officer as s igned to the unit. The Medicare/ FICA rate is 7.65% of s alaries and there are no taxes taken from the s tipend payments,s o this amount was reduced in the projection.

Moving from the current delivery s ys tem to a combination department with career and volunteer s taff would increas e the operations cos t by $720,449 per year. The current cost of the fire department repres ents approximately 11.7% of the revenues . The cost of a combination fire department repres ents approximately 18% of the revenues, an increas e of 6.3%. For comparis on, public works repres ents 12.3% and the police department repres ents approximately 51% of the revenues .

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Emergency Services Alternatives – Consolidation
In February 2022, at the request of the City of Sebastopol, the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District provided a proposal for the consolidation of the Sebastopol Fire Department and the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District. The proposal provides for a staffed station in Sebastopol with a Captain, an Engineer, and a stipend volunteer.

Emergency Services System Performance
As discussed in a previous section, the current delivery system for emergency services in the city responds from a single station located in the city. Automatic and mutual aid is available from Gold Ridge Fire Protection District and the Graton Fire Protection District.

The proposed consolidation does not change the response to calls for service as the resources will remain in the same locations and the automatic and mutual aid will remain the same. Also, as noted in a previous chapter, a staffed station will improve the response time by reducing the turnout time. The following table illustrates the difference between an unstaffed station and a staffed station.

All Emergency Calls –
90th Percentile Times
2019 -
2021 2019 2020 2021
Turnout Time - Sebastopol Medical Calls 5:40 5:15 5:41 6:09 Fire Calls 5:47 5:07 5:52 6:05
Turnout Time – Gold Ridge Medical Calls 2:48 2:54 2:38 2:51 Fire Calls 2:02 2:08 1:47 2:15
It s hould be noted that NFPA does not provide a turnout time performance objective for volunteer (unstaffed) companies or s tations . The intent for illus trating uns taffed units is not to dis parage a volunteer (uns taffed) s ystem. In a volunteer s ys tem the pers onnel res pond from home to the fire s tation to get the apparatus before res ponding to the call for service. This extends the turnout times, and it is what is expected of that type of s taffing model. It is shown here s imply to show the contras t between the two s taffing models .

Financial Resources
In their propos al dated February 18, 2022, Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict provided a detailed as s es sment of the revenues and expenditures for the operations in Sebas topol.

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Revenue
Gold Ridge is s upported by property taxes within their dis trict. The following table provides the highlights of the property taxes as s ess ed in Gold Ridge.

Year Pas s ed Tax Notes
Property Tax 1992 $5.00 per unit of ris k A typical res idential home is 4 units of ris k
Meas ure O 2008 $45.00 per parcel Applies only to improved parcels .

Meas ure E 2019 Res idential: $200 per As s es s ors
Parcel Number plus $100 per
additional unit.

Commercial: $300 per As s es s ors
Parcel Number plus $0.14 per
square foot.

Pas ture Land: $50
Agricultural and Vacant Land: $100
per Parcel
Bas ed on the above tax rates , a typical s ingle-family home in Sebas topol would be as s es s ed $265.00 on an annual bas is . According to the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict propos al the city would generate approximately $1,111,058 in property tax revenue us ing the tax meas ures outlined in the previous table.

Included in their propos al is the need for the city to continue to contribute to the cos t of providing emergency s ervices . The Gold Ridge propos al s ugges ts the us e of a fixed percentage of the revenues of the city. There is no percentage s ugges ted but rather indicates this s hould be negotiable bas ed on financial needs . To provide context for the percentage of total revenues as s ugges ted, the following table illus trates the current fire department total expenditures express ed as a percentage of total revenues .

Line Item 2019 – 2020
Actual
2020 – 2021
Actual
2021 – 2022
Estimated
2022 – 2023
Adopted Budget
Total Revenues $11,340,234 $11,217,327 $11,996,837 $11,369,060 Fire Department
Expenditures $1,024,444 $1,158,718 $1,191,250 $1,360,250 Fire Department Percent
of Total Revenues 9.0% 10.3% 9.9% 12.0%
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Matrix Cons ulting Group 77
As illus trated, the fire department currently averages approximately 11% of the total revenues of the city. Using the average 11% of total revenues and the anticipated revenue generated from the new property taxes , the combined revenues for emergency s ervices is approximately $2,361,655.

Expenditures
The propos ed s taffing model from Gold Ridge is to staff the Sebas topol Fire Station with four career Captains , three career Engineers , and a s tipend volunteer. This would create a three-person unit on a 24 hour bas is 365 days a year. The propos ed cos t to provide this s taffing is highlighted in the following table.

Position Annual Cost
Captains $646,751
Engineers $365,662
Stipend Volunteers $85,162
Total Cost $1,097,575
Operationally, the Fire Chief and on-duty Battalion Chief would be available for emergency res pons e, management, and recovery.

A part of the propos al included the maintenance of the fleet, both preventive maintenance and repairs . The propos al indicated the dis trict would provide the s ervice but did not provide a cos t to provide the s ervice. Als o included was a replacement s chedule that included a financing quote for a $3M loan for apparatus . The payments were quoted at $486,066.11 annually for s even years at an interes t rate of 3.25%.

For the facility, Gold Ridge indicated the dis trict would provide normal maintenance items and repairs . However, any alteration and improvements over $15,000 would be the res pons ibility of the city. The dis trict defines capital improvements as any s ingle project with a cos t that exceeds $15,000.

In terms of adminis tration and fire prevention, the propos al includes the us e of the current Gold Ridge adminis tration s taff of three adminis trative employees . In Sebas topol there is an Engineer that is as s igned to a 40-hour work week to handle fire prevention activities .

This employee would remain in Sebas topol reporting to a Battalion Chief in charge of fire prevention in Gold Ridge.

The propos al is not clear on the anticipated funding for s everal items . Thes e items are lis ted below:
• Maintenance cos ts for apparatus
• Maintenance cos ts for facilities
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• Operational cos ts for the Chief Officers
• Operational cos ts for the adminis trative s taff
Thes e items would need to be negotiated or at the very leas t identified as expenditures to ens ure there is s ufficient revenues to provide thes e s ervices . According to this propos al the only identified cos t is that of the s tation pers onnel.

Financial Context and Projections
To s ummarize the revenues and expenditures , the following table illus trates thes e revenues and cos ts .

Item Notes Amount
Revenue
Gold Ridge Tax Revenue From Proposal $1,111,057
Sebastopol Contribution 11% of Annual Revenue $1,250,597 Total Revenues $2,361,655
Expenditures
Personnel Cost From Proposal $1,097,574
Other Expenditures Forced Difference of Revenues $1,250,597 Total Expenditures $2,361,655
Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict tax revenues increas ed 1.2% from 2020 – 2021 fis cal year to the 2021 - 2022 fis cal year. Us ing this rate of increas e and the 11% of the annual revenue for the city, the following table provides a projection of the revenues for cons olidation.
2022 -
2023
Proposal
2023 -
2024
Projection
2024 -
2025
Projection
2025 -
2026
Projection
2026 -
2027
Projection
2027 -
2028
Projection
Gold Ridge
Tax Revenue $1,111,057 $1,124,437 $1,137,978 $1,151,682 $1,165,552 $1,179,588 Sebas topol
Contribution $1,250,597 $1,251,656 $1,252,717 $1,253,778 $1,254,841 $1,255,904 Total
Revenues $2,361,654 $2,376,093 $2,390,695 $2,405,461 $2,420,392 $2,435,492 For the expenditure projection, the s alaries and benefits from the propos al will be us ed as the s tarting point. Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict s alaries and benefits increas ed

2.1% from 2020 – 2021 fis cal year to the 2021 - 2022 fis cal year. For the remaining expenditures , the average between the city and the fire dis trict will be us ed. For the city this totaled $226,250 and for the fire dis trict the total is $690,334. This means the average is $458,292. For the purpos es of this projection, a 10.3% annual increas e will be us ed that repres ents the rate for the city.

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2022 -
2023
Proposed
2023 -
2024
Projection
2024 -
2025
Projection
2025 -
2026
Projection
2026 -
2027
Projection
2027 -
2028
Projection
Compensation $1,097,575 $1,110,793 $1,124,170 $1,137,707 $1,151,408 $1,165,274 Other Expenses $458,292 $505,496 $557,562 $614,991 $678,335 $748,204 Total
Expenditures $1,555,867 $1,616,289 $1,681,732 $1,752,699 $1,829,744 $1,913,478 The following table illus trates the difference between the revenues and expenditures . 2022 -
2023
Proposed
2023 -
2024
Projection
2024 -
2025
Projection
2025 -
2026
Projection
2026 -
2027
Projection
2027 -
2028
Projection
Total Revenues $2,361,654 $2,376,093 $2,390,695 $2,405,461 $2,420,392 $2,435,492 Total Expen. $1,555,867 $1,616,289 $1,681,732 $1,752,699 $1,829,744 $1,913,478 Surplus $805,787 $759,805 $708,963 $652,762 $590,649 $522,014 As noted, there will need to be further negotiations related to the fixed percentage of revenues between the city and fire dis trict. The 11% fixed rate us ed repres ents the current expenditure/ revenue ratio. Included in the negotiations s hould be increas es beyond the fixed rate revenue percentage to addres s any large increas es in the expenditures .

Governance
The Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict is governed by a Board of Directors that has s even members elected at large to four-year terms . For the city to have the ability to elect members to the Board of Directors , the dis trict would need to annex the city into the dis trict. The city council would need to approve the cons olidation and it would require the Local Agency Formation Commis s ion (LAFCO) to approve the cons olidation. Once approved by all parties , the cons olidation would become official. This would trigger the application of the property taxes from the fire dis trict to be as s es s ed to the city res idents and bus ines s es.

North Bay Fire
North Bay Fire is a collaboration of eight volunteer fire departments throughout Sonoma County that have banded together to create this organization. Through Sonoma County, Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict was s elected to provide overs ight to the North Bay Fire organization. Sonoma County provides funding, approximately $675,000 in the 2021 – 2022 Budget, to Gold Ridge to provide the s ervices , equipment, and s upplies for the eight agencies . There is a potential for thes e eight departments to be cons olidated into the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict at s ome point in the future. This cons olidation could Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 80
potentially bring a larger number of volunteer s taff to the consolidated organization providing s upport to the entire area.

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Service Delivery Improvements and Implementation
The desire of the city to improve the delivery of emergency services will require a phased approach with funding being the largest challenge. Overall, the delivery of services will remain the same regardless of the path chosen between retention of the current fire department and merging with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District. There will continue to be a single fire station in Sebastopol. The response to large incidents will continue with automatic and mutual aid from Gold Ridge Fire Protection District and Graton Fire Protection District. The biggest impact will be the response time and the reliability of a crew to respond in Sebastopol.

Retention of the Sebastopol Fire Department
Phas e 1 Stipend Payments
The firs t phas e is to es tablis h the policies and procedures related to the payment of s tipends to the volunteer s taff. The city will need to s eek the profes s ional s ervices of a workforce advis or to ens ure the FLSA regulations are being followed. This will provide the background for the volunteer s taffing model that can be legally es tablis hed and be FLSA compliant.

Phase 2 Fire Station
As noted, the fire s tation does not have the capacity for 24-hour crews as there is no s uitable living s pace limiting the staffed unit operations to a 16-hour day. There is a potential to leas e a modular trailer to be us ed for living quarters . However, this modular unit would need to occupy parking s paces in the rear of the fire s tation that are already limited as there are s torage trailers us ing s ome of the s pace. The city will need to acquire the s ervices of a des ign profes s ional to determine the mos t efficient way to addres s the s pace is s ues in the fire s tation. Depending on the path chos en, the renovations to the fire station could take 24 to 36 months to complete.

Phas e 3 Staffing
The first s tep in creating a s taffed unit is to es tablis h thos e policies and procedures for s tipend payments to the volunteer s taff. As previous ly noted, the us e of a 16-hour s hift is an option to improve the res pons e to emergency calls for s ervice. Us ing a s taffed unit from 7 am to 10 pm would cover approximately 72% of the calls for s ervice and reduce the res pons e time to thos e calls for s ervice at a cos t of approximately $438,000. Creating Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 82
the s taffing model for this will be determined with the completion of the FLSA review and the es tablis hment of appropriate policies and procedures.

With the us e of volunteer s taffing, there may be a need to recruit additional volunteer s taff to remain compliant with the FLSA regulations . Recall the need for thirty-one volunteer s taff members us ing a $14,000 annual payment as the upper payment limit. This may require allowing volunteers from outs ide the city to apply and become volunteer s taff members . The other option is to hire limited career s taff to limit the number of volunteer s taff members needed to s taff a unit. For example, hiring enough career staff to cut the need for s tipend volunteers in half or needing approximately fifteen stipend volunteers to create the s taffed unit.

Phase 4 Apparatus
The need to replace apparatus is not an immediate need but it is one that will require attention in the near future. The front-line apparatus is reas onably new at ten years old; however, the res erve apparatus is much older and due to be replaced. With apparatus manufacturers quoting 28 to 30 months for the delivery of new apparatus , it is imperative the city begin to plan for the replacements s ooner rather than later.

Consolidation with Gold Ridge Fire Protection Di strict Phase 1 Fire Station
As noted, the fire station does not have the capacity for 24-hour crews as there is no suitable living space limiting the staffed unit operations to a 16-hour day. There is a potential to lease a modular trailer to be used for l iving quarters. However, this modular unit would need to occupy parking spaces in the rear of the fire station that are already limited as there are storage trailers using some of the space. The city will need to acquire the services of a design profession al to determine the most efficient way to address the space issues in the fire station. Depending on the path chosen, the renovations to the fire station could take 24 to 36 months to complete.

This may influence any agreement with the Gold Ridge Fire Pro tection District. The proposal submitted for review by the city only included 24 -hour staffing. Other staffing models would need to be addressed in any further negotiations between the city and fire district.

Phase 2 Stipend Payments
As noted previously t here is a need to seek the professional services of a workforce advisor to ensure the FLSA regulations are being followed. This should occur regardless Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 83
of any cons olidation efforts as there may be other implications or challenges for the city with the pas t handling of the s tipend payments . Although unlikely, it is unknown if s uch implications or challenges would influence any cons olidation efforts .

The firs t phas e is to es tablis h the policies and procedures related to the payment of s tipends to the volunteer s taff. The city will need to s eek the profes s ional s ervices of a workforce advis or to ens ure the FLSA regulations are being followed. This will provide the background for the volunteer s taffing model that can be legally es tablis hed and be FLSA compliant.

Phase 3 Agreement
The propos al provided to the city for the cons olidation outlined in detail the cos t for pers onnel to s taff the Sebas topol Fire Station. The staffing model us ed was des igned to provide 24-hour s hifts us ing career and s tipend volunteer staffing. As has been documented, the Sebas topol Fire Station does not have the capacity to hous e a 24-hour crew. While there is a potential to us e a modular trailer to provide hous ing for the crew, the cos t of this modular unit is not s pecifically addres s ed. If it is cons idered a capital expens e, the city would be res pons ible for the cos t bas ed on the propos al.

Revenues are als o outlined in detail in the propos al. The Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict would annex the city into the dis trict and apply the s pecial taxes of the dis trict to the city. The approval of the Sebas topol City Council, the Board of Directors of the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District, and the final approval of LAFCO is all that is needed to complete the annexation. There is no vote of the public required to as s es s the s pecial taxes as that is cons idered a part of the annexation proces s . In addition to the application of property taxes , the propos al s ugges ts the city would need to continue their contributions to the fire protection s ys tem. In the propos al, the city contribution would be a fixed percentage of the annual revenue. There is no percentage rate s ugges ted only that it will need to be negotiated. Us ing the 11% that is the current rate, this would generate approximately $1,250,597 annually.

The implementation of this agreement will require additional negotiations . The s pecial taxes as s ess ed to the city through the annexation will provide the funds for the pers onnel.

The percentage of the revenues will require further negotiations and details . The city will need to provide capital items above this percentage s uch as the fire s tation and apparatus replacement. Should the s taffing model not be able to provide the 24-hour s hift due to the facility is s ues , how would that cost be allocated or adjus ted.

Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 84
Phase 4 Propos al Approvals
With the negotiations between the city and dis trict, both agencies will need to approve the propos al and s ubs equent agreements . To finalize the agreements , the Local Agency Formation Commis s ion (LAFCO) will need to review and approve the cons olidation. Once this approval is completed, the cons olidation can proceed.

Phase 5 Apparatus
The need to replace apparatus is not an immediate need but it is one that will require attention in the near future. The front-line apparatus is reas onably new at ten years old; however, the res erve apparatus is much older and due to be replaced. With apparatus manufacturers quoting 28 to 30 months for the delivery of new apparatus , it is imperative the city begin to plan for the replacements s ooner rather than later.

Within the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict propos al, there is a section that identifies the use of a leas e purchas e plan. This plan includes approximately $3M for the purchas e of apparatus with annual payments of $486,066.11 over a 7-year period. This payment would be over and above the annual revenue contribution.

Recommended Approach for Service Delivery
Based on the review and analysis of the emergency services delivery system for the City of Sebastopol, the project team recommends a phased approach to the consolidation with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District. In as much as the delivery of emergency services will remain like the existing system, consolidation provides additional administrative support while reducing the cost of duplication. Also, there will be an increase in the availability and number of volunteer staff to provide additional support to the operational aspects of the fire department.

Phase 1 Administrative Services and Physical Resources
In this first phase the City of Sebastopol would contract with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District to provide administrative oversight to the fire department. This would include a Fire Chief and fire prevention activities as well as any other administr ative support necessary for the operation of the fire department. The City of Sebastopol and Gold Ridge Fire Protection District would need to negotiate an agreement for these services. There will be financial considerations as the current Fire Chief salar y and benefits would be transferred, in part, to the new agreement.

The second part of this phase is to address the fire station. As previously noted, the fire station does not have suitable space for living quarters for 24-hour crews. In addition, Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 85
there are numerous other maintenance is s ues that als o need to be addres s ed in terms of alterations and repairs . In this phas e the City of Sebas topol will need to acquire the s ervices of a des ign profes s ional to begin work on thes e facility is s ues .

Apparatus replacement is an is s ue that will require attention along with the fire s tation.

As previous ly noted, there are four pieces of apparatus that bas ed on age are beyond their replacement year. There are others that will require replacement in the next 5 to 10 years . Plans for thes e replacements will need to be developed.

Phas e 2 Initial Staffing
With the fire s tation not s uitable to hous e 24-hour crews , the initial phas e for s taffing is to use the 16-hour s taffing model. In this phas e, staffing the fire s tation for 16 hours a day on Monday through Friday from 6 am to 10 pm will provide s ervices to approximately 63% of the call volume us ing a s taffed station. The remaining hours overnight and weekends would continue us ing the volunteer s taffing model.

Stipends for the volunteer staffing would continue but s omewhat reduced as the res pons es during thos e times the station is s taffed would not neces s arily require a volunteer s taffing res pons e. Als o, the City of Sebas topol will need to addres s the s tipend is s ues as outlined previous ly and acquiring the s ervices of a workforce profes s ional to ens ure compliance with the Department of Labor and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Phas e 3 Gold Ridge Annexation
Continuing the cons olidation proces s , the City of Sebas topol and Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict would prepare the documentation neces s ary to file with LAFCO for the cons olidation with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. This application would include the annexation of the City of Sebas topol into the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. The LAFCO proces s may require s everal months to complete but with both parties agreeing to the cons olidation it may not take as long to go through their proces s . The annexation would s et up the ability to begin to collect property taxes through the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict and allow for the final phas e of the cons olidation to begin.

Phase 4 Completion of the Station Renovations and Staffing This final phas e would begin with the approval of the cons olidation from LAFCO and the as s es sment of the property taxes as s ociated with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District.

Completion of the fire s tation renovations would als o be completed providing s uitable s pace for living quarters . With the funding from the property taxes in place, the s taffing model would change from the 16-hour Monday through Friday s taffing model to the 24 Fire Department Feasibility Study Sebas topol, CA
Matrix Cons ulting Group 86
hour 7 days a week s taffing model. With the completion of this phas e, the cons olidation would be completed.

Recommendation:

Bas ed on the review and analys is the project team recommends a phas ed approach to the cons olidation of emergency s ervices with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. • Phas e 1 would cons is t of contracting with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict to provide adminis trative s ervices and providing overs ight to the cons olidation proces s . Begin to des ign a plan to renovate the fire station to hous e emergency s ervices s taff.
• To improve the res pons e to calls for s ervice, phas e 2 includes staffing the fire s tation for a 16-hour period daily Monday through Friday. Staffing the s tation from 6 am to 10 pm would provide s ervice to approximately 63% of the call volume in the City of Sebas topol.
• Phas e 3 includes the development of the documentation neces s ary to file with LAFCO for the cons olidation and annexation of the City of Sebas topol into the Gold Ridge Fire Protection Dis trict. Timing for this proces s is unknown, however with both organizations s upporting the cons olidation the timing may be shortened. • The final phas e begins with the cons olidation approval from LAFCO and continues with the renovations to the fire s tation. Once the renovations are complete, the funding in place as a res ult of the annexation/ cons olidation, the s taffing model would change from the 16-hour Monday through Friday to the 24 hour 7 days a week s taffing model.

Sebastopol City CouncilJanuary 31, 2023

Sebastopol City Council
January 31, 2023