Fire Service Delivery Study
Sebastopol, California
Study Objectives
To conduct a study of the current fire service delivery in the City of Sebastopol to include:
Retention of the VFD with conversion to 24/7 staffing model Consolidation of the SVFD with Gold Ridge FPD
The following benefits were desired from the study
Increased efficiency
Improved effectiveness
Enhanced services, supervision and training
Cost avoidance
Coordination and planning of consolidation
Improvement to current ISO rating
Enhancements to improve future state and federal grant funding Study Approaches
Interviews with City personnel, VFD members, community members and GRFPD leadership
Data collected from the City, VFD and GRFPD for analysis Interim deliverables reviewed by the City to ensure they were factual
Development of a draft, reviewed by the City and final report after additional information and edits were developed
Key Service Delivery Findings
Sebastopol VFD responds to approximately 1,000 calls annually The hours between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm are the busiest for calls
Call demand is heaviest along SR 12 and SR 116
Mutual Aid is required from Gold Ridge FPD and/or Graton FPD to develop an effective response force on structure fires. Travel time to emergency calls is excellent at 3:16 for 90% of emergency calls
Turnout time, however, is long at 5:47 seconds for 90% of emergency calls since 2019
Apparatus is aging and needs replacement
Options for the City
Status Quo – Keeping VFD as it is currently operated
Enhanced Status Quo – Adding staffing to improve service delivery and response reliability during peak hours
Combination – Staffing a 24/7 Fire Department, supplemented with volunteer firefighters
Consolidation with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District Status Quo
Heavily reliant on volunteer firefighters
Volunteers have limited availability in daytime hours Recruiting and retaining volunteers has been problematic locally and nationally
System results in longer than desirable turnout times Station improvements and vehicle replacement issues remain Enhanced Status Quo / Combination
24-hour staffing with stipend employees would require a minimum of 47 active volunteers to ensure compliance with FLSA requirements
16-hour staffing with stipend employees would require a minimum of 32 active volunteers to ensure compliance with FLSA requirements
24-hour staffing using a combination of 2 career and 1 volunteer daily will require hiring 6 career personnel and a having a minimum of 6 volunteers to fill the stipend position
Enhanced Status Quo Budget
Line Item FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027
24-hour stipend $1,879,420 $1,978,469 $2,090,974 $2,219,114 16-hour stipend $1,694,305 $1,793,354 $1,905,859 $2,033,999 Combination $2,083,510 $2,242,483 $2,420,161 $2,619,213 Existing VFD $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506 Advantages and Challenges
Advantages and Challenges of Enhanced Status Quo /
Combination
Advantages Challenges
City maintains local control Requires remodel of existing fire station
City determines desired
staffing, performance and
capital replacement timelines
Requires recruitment of
additional volunteers, fire
chief and full-time personnel
Support functions continue to
be provided by the City
Voter approval required for
any tax measure to fund the
system.
Total response time
improved during staffed
times
Special election cost $30,000
Consolidation
24-hour staffing with a career Captain, Engineer and stipend volunteers daily
Chief and Battalion Chief available for emergency response, management and recovery
Administrative support services provided by the District Gold Ridge provides normal apparatus and facility maintenance City responsible for improvements and capital expenditures exceeding $15,000, including apparatus
Governance provided by seven-member Board of Directors Consolidation Cost Projections
Line Item FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027
Parcel Tax Revenue $1,124,437 $1,137,978 $1,151,682 $1,165,552 Sebastopol Contribution $1,251,656 $1,252,717 $1,253,778 $1,254,481 Total Revenue $2,376,093 $2,390,695 $2,045,461 $2,420,392 Projected Expenditures $1,616,289 $1,681,732 $1,752,699 $1,829,744 Projected Surplus $759,805 $708,963 $652,762 $590,649
Advantages and Challenges
Advantages and Challenges of Consolidation
Advantages Challenges
Enhanced volunteer staffing Loss of local control outside Board representation
District is responsible for
staffing and administration
LAFCO approval required
prior to annexation
Voter approval not required
to implement parcel tax
Requires remodel of station
for 24-hour staffing
All support functions
become responsibility of the
District
Total response times
improve as station is staffed
24/7
Cost Projection Comparison
Line Item FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027
Status Quo $1,448,296 $1,596,925 $1,760,806 $1,941,506
24-hour Stipend Staff $1,879,420 $1,978,469 $2,090,974 $2,219,114 16-hour Stipend Staff $1,694,305 $1,793,354 $1,905,859 $2,033,999 24-hour Career and
Stipend $2,083,510 $2,242,483 $2,420,161 $2,619,213
Consolidation $2,376,093 $2,390,695 $2,045,461 $2,420,392 Recommended Approach
Phase 1 – Contract with Gold Ridge for administrative oversight Phase 2 – Implement 16-hour staffing plan
Phase 3 – Develop required LAFCO documentation for approval for annexation into the GRFPD
Phase 4 – Begin renovation of fire station to house personnel on 24-hour shifts while going through LAFCO approval
Finalize consolidation and implement 24-hour staffing once LAFCO approval is achieved
Questions / Discussion