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DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT

DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT. LOOKING AT TODAY The FY 04 Situation. OUR STAFFING. We have 23 Full Time Positions. There are 20 members who provide 24 x 7 x 365 coverage. Four Officers and 16 Firefighter/EMTs. They are divided into four shifts –

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DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT

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  1. DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKING AT TODAY The FY 04 Situation

  2. OUR STAFFING We have 23 Full Time Positions. There are 20 members who provide 24 x 7 x 365 coverage. Four Officers and 16 Firefighter/EMTs They are divided into four shifts – Each Shift member works two 10 hour day shifts and two 14 hour night shifts every 8 days. Each Shift member works 48 hours in eight days, and that causes them to work 42 hours per seven day work week over the eight week cycle.

  3. OUR STAFFING We have 23 Full Time Positions. Three positions are staff positions: Fire Chief - Deputy Fire Chief Fire Prevention Lieutenant These staff people work day shifts only - The Chief and Deputy work five 8 hour days The Fire Prevention Officer works four 10 hour days.

  4. OUR OPERATION When both stations are open, we need an Officer and four Firefighter/EMTs. There is an Officer at Station 1 with two Firefighters. There are two Firefighters at Station 2 (Ashdod). We cover every vacant position. Firefighter for Firefighter Officer for Officer. That is the only way that we can provide the current level of services at the current staffing level.

  5. OUR OPERATION When only one station is open, we need an Officer and three Firefighter/EMTs. By pooling our resources, we can run one position down per shift, and maintain our minimum coverage. We would cover vacant positions to keep us at the one and three level minimum level. This will save overtime dollars whenever an employee is on vacation, out sick or while our two members are at the Firefighting Academy Recruit Training Program.

  6. OUR HISTORY Previous Staffing Levels In January, 1979, when we first opened the Ashdod Fire Station on a 24 x 7 x 365 basis, we had 21 full time positions. The Fire Chief worked a five day, eight hour per day work week. The Deputy Chief, three Officers, and 16 Firefighters worked four shifts to cover the 24 x 7 x 365 schedule.

  7. OUR HISTORY Previous Staffing Levels At that time we maintained the same man for man coverage that we do today. The Ashdod Fire Station was closed in 1990 because we could not afford to maintain coverage of an Officer and four firefighters at all times. We need to maintain five people on shift to keep both fire stations open, and that requires overtime money.

  8. OUR PROBLEM We are starting out FY 04 in deficit. Our FY 04 budget was cut by $ 76,081.00 in Salaries and $ 7,881.00 in Expenses. We anticipated one retirement: that retirement probably will not come unless there is some type of early retirement package. We have had one firefighter out for 9 shifts on injured-on-duty leave – Cost of about $3,638.00. He is back to full duty now.

  9. OUR PROBLEM We are starting out FY 04 in deficit. We have one recruit in the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy 11 week Recruit Training Program now, and one that is scheduled in the next class. Shift coverage for the two recruits who will attend the Recruit Training will cost about $ 16,000.00 each making our deficit over 100 K. Recruit training is required under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

  10. SOLUTIONS

  11. SOLUTIONS

  12. SOLUTIONS We still need to make up a substantial amount of money, and hope that we don’t have extended sick or injury leave, serious fires, a stormy winter or a busy brush fire season next spring.

  13. SOLUTIONS We see only three possible ways to accomplish this: 1. - Layoff the newest employee and put the Fire Prevention Officer back on Shift. 2. - Close the Ashdod Fire Station for a limited period of time and get our savings on the front end. That will allow for small adjustments on the back end. 3. - Find additional money.

  14. OUR RECOMMENDATION Our recommendation is that we close the Ashdod Fire Station from August 1 to December 1. This will allow us to save overtime money while still assuring firefighter safety. This is the best time of year to close the Fire Station: Few brush and outside fires to contend with. Fewer heater related incidents – less chance of oil burner problems, solid fuel fires, chimney fires, building fires, and CO incidents.

  15. OUR RECOMMENDATION Responses in the Ashdod area are still only about 35-40% of all of our total call volume. Many of those emergency calls are south of the Ashdod Fire Station. We would still have a response to serious medical calls from the Jordan Paramedic 9 Team while that station is closed.

  16. OUR RECOMMENDATION If we ultimately get a retirement or two by way of an early retirement plan, it will help to save more taxpayer dollars. However, the goal is not to save money. The goal, as I see it, is to live within the budget while providing reasonable response times to all of our residents and assuring firefighter safety.

  17. DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKING AT TOMORROW AND BEYOND

  18. OUR VISION Where do you expect to be in 5 years ?

  19. OUR VISION Where do you expect to be in 5 years ? Our vision is that no Duxbury Firefighter will make the supreme sacrifice in giving his/her life in the line of duty in saving another life. Sending our folks home to their families safely at the end on each work shift is my driving force that consumes how I look at things every day.

  20. OUR VISION Where do you expect to be in 5 years ? Our vision is that we can continue to attract remarkable young people as firefighters who enjoy public service and who care about our community and its residents. An organization’s future is clearly defined by the quality of the people in its workforce. Our people, both call and career, are outstanding. Our fire department enjoys great respect in the community because of them.

  21. OUR VISION Where do you expect to be in 5 years ? Our vision is that the Duxbury Fire Department will still be providing the same high quality fire protection, fire safety education, fire prevention, and Emergency Medical Services for our customers that it provided before the economic downturn of FY 04-05. It is a sad testimony to wish to be in five years where you are today, but that is the fact.

  22. DUXBURY FIRE DEPARTMENT Sometimes WE DON’T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN !!

  23. THE MISSION The Fire Department is considered by most people as a necessary evil. Like health insurance and life insurance, we are only here because people will have serious problems that they can’t solve on their own. I believe that our department has the most critical mission of any department because: Every emergency that we respond to is escalating in seriousness and urgency. If we don’t intervene, destruction, injury, or death will certainly occur. We only do about 1,600 emergency calls per year but if you are # 1486, that call is very significant.

  24. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 1. - Completion of the fire alarm and security system program in our Town buildings. This project is now underway. The High School fire and security alarm system, and the receiving panel at the Police Station will be done by October. By next year at this time, 13 Town Owned buildings will be fully alarmed and connected to the Public Safety Dispatch Center.

  25. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 2. – Continuing the Capital Improvement Program so we can continue our life saving mission. Our dedicated people are what gets the job done for our citizens, but our rolling stock and ancillary equipment are essential to that mission. History should not have to repeat itself with the costly repairs and equipment failures that we experienced in 1989.

  26. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 3. - Developing our Town web site into an interactive site where our customers can purchase permits and fill out inspection forms without having to visit us. This could provide a substantial benefit to our customers, the citizens of Duxbury who we all work for. This site has come a long way, but we still have work to do. Mary Beth is terrific and has brought us to the point where we are now.

  27. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 4. - Planning for the installation of automatic sprinkler systems in several of our Town buildings. Our insurance folks (MIIA) have recommended sprinkler systems in the fire stations, police station, and the DPW garage and maintenance facility. Alden School, Chandler School, PAC, Library, and Senior Center have or will have sprinkler systems.

  28. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 5. - Rebuilding of the Central Fire Station into a modern, efficient facility similar to the Ashdod Fire Station.

  29. OUR VISION Departmental Projects & Priorities 6. - Initiation of our own Advanced Life Support (ALS) System of Emergency Medical Services for our residents.

  30. OUR VISION Staffing Levels & Future Staffing Needs. We need to get back the Full Time Fire Prevention Officer position that we are losing in FY04. We need to hire the 6th position per shift as I have previously requested. We need to increase our call force to 15 active members.

  31. National Fire Protection Association The City of Quincy is considering recommendations of the NFPA for staffing levels at one Officer and three firefighters per piece of apparatus. That recommendation would put our shift strength at 12 instead of 5. Out total allocation of personnel would go from 23 to 51. That doesn’t include personnel for staffing our two ambulances. Our budget would increase to about 3.5 million dollars.

  32. OUR VISION Could Technology Impact Your Services? There is technology that could assist us in doing our jobs more efficiently. Mobile Data Terminals would provide a huge benefit, particularly with the use of digital images of our target hazards. GPS and pictometry would provide huge benefits in all types of firefighting efforts. Completion of an interactive Town wide web site.

  33. FY 05 BUDGET

  34. FY 05 BUDGET The FY 05 Budget reflects an increase of $46,812. 00 or an increase of 2.82 % over the FY 04 budget. Most of that increase is the result of a 3 % pay increase that our collective bargaining employees received as a part of a three year contract - $ 40,506.00. It reflects a small dollar amount for employees who are entitled to annual step increases - $ 5,306.00. It also reflects an increase of $ 1,000.00 in our ambulance billing line item.

  35. FY 05 BUDGET The $46,812.00 in this budget could be reduced by about $ 30,000.00 to $ 40,000.00 through an increase in our ambulance billing rate.

  36. STAFFING & SERVICE What Does Level Dollar Funding Mean ? Level dollar funding will create a dramatic cut in services in FY05. We would be required to absorb the pay increase that was approved for our employees, and to absorb the step increases allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. TOTAL FISCAL IMPACT – ABOUT $ 46,000.00

  37. STAFFING & SERVICE What Does A 10 % Reduction Mean ? A 10 % REDUCTION MEANS THE LOSS OF $ 166,000,00. BASED ON OUR FY 04 BUDGET. Loss of 4 full time Firefighter/EMT positions. Closing Station 2 permanently. In my opinion, there is not even room for reasonable discussion on the magnitude of this reduction.

  38. STAFFING & SERVICE Staffing We are currently at 1979 shift staffing levels. After the first emergency call, we become a call fire department. Our number of emergency responses have doubled since 1979. The value of the property that we are asked to protect has doubled since 1979. We have added a second ambulance since 1979.

  39. STAFFING & SERVICE Staffing What about using Call Firefighters to help solve our staffing problems ? We have great Call Firefighters and they do a good job for us. However, they all work full time regular jobs. Their employer will not allow them to leave their jobs several times a day to bail out our fire department.

  40. STAFFING & SERVICE Staffing What about using Mutual Aid to help solve our staffing problems ? Because Mutual Aid needs to be “Mutual”. Mutual Aid is a great tool. We have terrific neighbors that help us regularly. However, the money that we save getting it will be spent giving it back.

  41. STAFFING & SERVICE We CANNOT run below staffing of five per shift for two stations or four per shift for one station. That would be completely irresponsible, and could expose the Town to liability issues. Difficult choices need to be made between fire department staffing for essential services, and maintaining other programs. We provide the most essential service of any Town department.

  42. STAFFING & SERVICE What Are Our Capitial Needs–5 Years The Fire Department capital needs are always outlined in a five year Capital Improvement Plan that is submitted as a part of our annual budget package. We have done that since 1983. Unfortunately, our equipment is high cost stuff, but ignoring replacement puts us back in the 1988 predicament.

  43. STAFFING & SERVICE Over the next 5 years, we will need to replace two ambulances, one command car, and one pumper. This will meet our minimum needs and allow us to continue with our life saving mission. Best guest estimate at today’s prices: $ 700,000.

  44. CAPITAL NEEDS Two of these @ $ 140,000.00 each.

  45. CAPITAL NEEDS One of these @ $ 375,000.00.

  46. CAPITAL NEEDS One of these @ $ 35,000.00.

  47. CAPITAL NEEDS We won’t need any of these.

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