HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10261993 - 2.A 2 .A
THE BOARD OR SUPERVISORS OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on _October 26, 1993 by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Smith, Bishop, McPeak, Torlakson
NOES: None
ABSENT: Supervisor Powers
ABSTAIN: None
SUBJECT: Fire District Consolidations
The Board considered the recommendations of the County
Administrator as set forth in the attached report dated October
260, 1993 , a copy of which is attached and included as a part of
this document.
The Board received a letter dated October 21, 1993 ,
from Bobbie, Landers, Mayor, City of Orinda, 26 Orinda Way,
Orinda 94563, requesting assurances from the Board of Supervisors
that the proposed single district consolidation will not
deteriorate fire protection services in Orinda, and also
requesting the inclusion of conditions in the LAFCO application
and consolidation proceedings.
The following persons spoke:
Bobbie Landers, Mayor, City of Orinda;
Judy Shallat, Citizens' Committee for Orinda Fire
Protection Services, 33 Evergreen Drive, Orinda;
William Gross, Commissioner, Orinda Fire Protection
District;
Sue Noe, Town of Moraga, 23 La Salle Drive, Moraga;
Ray Davis, 20 Zander Drive, Orinda; and
Sherri Andersen, Discovery Bay Municipal Advisory
Council.
All persons desiring to speak were heard.
Supervisor Smith spoke on the responsibility and
commitment of the Board of Supervisors to not only the people of
Orinda and Moraga but to the people of all the fire districts in
providing the most cost effective, high quality level of fire
service that the County can. He referred to the functional
integration plan that has saved considerable money while at the
same time has not reduced fire services. He expressed confidence
that the proposed consolidations will expand rather than contract
the level of fire service while providing for the better
utilization of staff and fiscal resources.
There was discussion among Board members on the need to
provide for employees who might be displaced by the
reorganization; the scheduling of public hearings on the proposed
consolidations at the appropriate time; consideration of a
proposal of bringing the Oakley Fire District into the overall
consolidation of the Fire Districts under the Merit System; and
support for the staffing configuration under Option 2 for the
proposed consolidation of the Bethel Island, East Diablo, and
Oakley Fire Districts into one non-merit system district.
Therefore, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that
Recommendations Nos. 1 and 4 are APPROVED as presented.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Recommendations Nos. 2 and 3
are APPROVED as amended by changing the reference "volunteer"
Fire Protection Districts to parttime (paid on call) with
direction to staff to proceed with Option 2 on staff
configurations for the Bethel Island, East Diablo, and Oakley
Fire Districts.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Recommendation No. 5 is
APPROVED as amended to provide that those employees who might be
displaced by a reorganization or down-sizing of the fire
districts be considered for employment opportunities in both of
the consolidated districts.
In addition, IT IS ORDERED that the County
Administrator is REQUESTED to review a proposal of bringing
Oakley Fire District into the overall consolidation of the Fire
Districts under the Merit System.
The County Administrator was requested to report to the
Board on December 7, 1993 .
1 hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of
an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
cc: County Administrator
ATTESTED: i �---�—
Local 1230 PHIL BATCHELOR,Clerk of the Board
of Supervisors and County Administrator
By �� ��� �2 — .Deputy
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra
FROM:
Costa
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
off:
October 26, 1993 County
DATE: rrq.c6uN`�
SUBJECT: Fire District Consolidations
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Approve the concept of consolidating the merit system Contra Costa County,
Orinda, Pinole, Riverview and West County Fire Protection Districts into one
district.
2. Approve the concept of consolidating the "volunteer" Bethel Island, East Diablo and
Oakley Fire Protection Districts into one district separate from the recommended
consolidated merit system district.
3. Consider the two options for implementing and staffing the consolidated volunteer
district recommended in Number 2 above.
4. Direct the County Administrator to meet and confer with relevant employee
organizations regarding the various personnel and labor relations issues which
must be resolved prior to submitting consolidation applications to LAFCO.
.5. Direct the Fire Chief of the consolidated merit system fire district to begin preparing
an implementation plan and time schedule for the consolidation of the merit system
and volunteer districts. .
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS/BACKGROUND
In order to provide a first step for the orderly consolidation of county fire districts and
avoid the likely difficulties of a total simultaneous consolidation, we are proposing that two
interrelated LAFCO applications be developed to accomplish the following:
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: f6�
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD CO MITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AC TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF TH ARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ATTESTED
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
CC: SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY DEPUTY
A. Consolidate the Contra Costa County, Orinda, Pinole, Riverview and West
County Fire Districts into one merit system fire district as depicted in the
attached organization chart (Attachment A). The Moraga Fire District would
remain a separate County district functionally integrated with the proposed
consolidated district. This organizational arrangement would maintain,
solidify and enhance the financial and operational benefits achieved through
functional integration.
B. Consolidate the Bethel Island, East Diablo and Oakley Fire Districts into one
non-merit system district with two options including preliminary staffing
configurations as follows:
OPTION 1
The first option was developed by the volunteer district fire chiefs and
contemplates a separate management structure for a newly consolidated
volunteer district (See Attachment). This option would reduce management
positions by 33%, from nine to six. This would be accomplished by
combining the management personnel of all three volunteer districts. The
reduction in management staff would provide for increased funding for 40
hour a week firefighters (paid on call personnel), which could be increased
from 17 to 26. This option increases the number of firefighter personnel and
allows for a management structure separate and distinct from the
consolidated merit system district.
Note: Scheduled firefighters are used during those periods when it is most
difficult to recruit volunteers, normally during the work week between 8:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
OPTION 2
This option provides for management of the newly consolidated volunteer
fire district through functional integration with the newly consolidated merit
system fire district (See Attachment). It would provide for a contractual
relationship where the chief of the newly proposed consolidated fire district
and senior staff would provide overall management and administration of the
proposed new volunteer district. Such items as budgeting, personnel, and
purchasing, etc. would be provided under the direction of the chief of the
consolidated district and would include a training/volunteer coordinator
position. This option would eliminate three fire chiefs, five assistant fire
chiefs and one battalion chief that currently exist in the volunteer districts.
It would contemplate having three shift supervisors who would work under
the direction of an assistant chief in the merit system consolidated fire
district. As a result of these increased management reductions, additional
funds would be available to increase 40 hour a week firefighters (paid on
call personnel) from 26 to 40, or 14 additional firefighters over Option 1.
Presented on the next page is a chart showing the position impacts of the two
volunteer district options:
2
CURRENT
POSITION STRUCTURE OPTION 1 OPTION 2
Fire Chief 3 1 0
Assistant Chief 5 2 0
Battalion Chief 1 3 0
Shift Supervisor 0 0 3
Volunteer/Training Coordinator 0 0 1
Training Instructor 1 1 1
Station Operator 1 0 0
Fire Officer 0 1 FTE 0
Apparatus Mechanic 0 0 1
TOTAL NON-FIREFIGHTERS 11 8 6
SCHEDULED FIREFIGHTERS 1 17 26 1 40 11
These two separate consolidations would be the first step of further functional integration
and/or consolidation. The proposed combination of merit and non-merit (volunteer
districts) has been thoroughly discussed with potentially affected fire chiefs, Personnel and
County Counsel staff and the County's employee relations representative. These
discussions led to the consensus that there are personnel, labor relations, and potential
legal impediments with merging the two types of fire districts into a single district at the
same time.
Creation of the two districts would provide the basic organizational framework to address
the complex labor relations, personnel, budget, salary and benefit and service level issues
unique to each of the two districts in an orderly fashion. Resolution of many of these
issues within the merit system consolidation would be far from easy. Adding the issues
of non-merit employees and varying service levels to the consolidation effort would
increase the potential for serious and costly results several fold. After the two separate
consolidations have been successfully implemented, the consolidation of the proposed
merit and non-merit districts could be pursued in an orderly manner contingent upon the
availability of financial resources within the non-merit (volunteer) district.
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OPTION 1
Bethel Island,East Dieblo,and Oakle Consolidated
Printed 10-08-93
Board of Supervisors
Fire Commission
(1) Bethel Island
(1) Brentwood
(1) Byron
(1) Discovery Bay
(1) Knightsen
(1) Marsh Creek
(1) Oakley
Fire Chief
Assistant Chief Assistant Chief
40 Hour 40 Hour
Administration Operations
Budget Maintenance
Personnel Purchasing
Communications Risk Managment
Prevention
Training
Clerk Specialist Fire Officer Fire Officer
Administration Exempt Exempt
20 Hours 20 Hours
Battalion Chief Battalion Chief Battalion Chief
A Shift Supervisor B Shift Supervisor C Shift Supervisor
56 Hour 56 Hour 56 Hour
Vehicle Maintenance P.O.C. Training In Service Training
Operations operations Operations
Clerk Senior Training
Training Instructor
Inventory 40 Hour
9 Stations
26 Full Time 40 Hour Fire fighters
120 Paid On Call
17 Engine Companies
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DATE: /o -
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N PHONE: 63'1-�9�3--
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26 orindo woy orindo colifornio 94563 510 • 254-3900
October 21, 1993 RECEIVED
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OCT 2 5 N4
Tom Torlakson, Chairman
and Members of the Board of Supervisors
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors CLERK ONTRAARD OCOSTA CO.
�SORS
651 Pine Street, 11th Floor
Martinez, CA 94553
Dear Chairman Torlakson and Members of the Board of Supervisors:
As you know the City of Orinda and the Town of Moraga have undertaken an evaluation of fire
services in our communities. The City of Orinda's goal in this effort is to ensure continuation of.the
highest practical level of fire protection to this community.
To this end we commissioned an independent consultant to help us evaluate the relative costs and
benefits of several service delivery alternatives. We have considered the County's plan to consolidate
the merit system and volunteer fire districts into a single district, as well as other options such as the
formation of an independent fire district in the Orinda/Moraga area. Based on this effort the City
of Orinda has reached the following overall conclusions:
1. It would be feasible in both operational and financial terms to form an independent fire
protection district serving the Orinda and Moraga areas. At the present time, the City of
Orinda is not proposing this option; however, our position in this matter is dependent upon
assurances from the Board of Supervisors that your proposed single district consolidation will
not deteriorate fire protection services in Orinda.
2. While there are cost reduction benefits to be achieved through the consolidation efforts being
undertaken by the Board, it is also critical that service levels not be reduced. We do not yet
see any special focus on minimum acceptable levels of service. To the contrary, we are
worried that financial considerations dominate the considerations.
3. During any consolidation proceedings that your Board may initiate, there are means through
which the county can assure the maintenance of acceptable levels of fire service capacity to
the citizens of Orinda. We are looking to the Board for these assurances.
As the Board knows, the formation and reorganization of fire districts within California is governed
by statutes that are generally referred to as Cortese - Knox and the Fire Protection District Law of
1987. Specifically, these statues provide the-Board and the Local Agency Formation Commission with
the ability to:
1. Establish separate "service zones" for providing fire services within a district service area.
2. Appoint advisory fire service commissions for the district as whole or for separate zones.
3. Set forth special conditions related to the continued provision of services upon reorganizations
and consolidations.
Printed on Recycled Poper
Tom Torlakson, Chairman
October 21, 1993
Page Two
We understand from your staff that depending on the outcome of the advisory measure vote in the
November election, the Board is considering the initiation of proceedings to consolidate the Orinda
And Contra Costa Fire Protection Districts. If you undertake this initiative, the Orinda City Council
requests that the Board condition the LAFCO application and consolidation proceedings as follows:
1. Establish an Orinda Fire Service Zone that is coterminous with the existing boundaries of the
Orinda Fire Protection District.
2. Designate the Zone as a "high fire hazard area".
3. Commit that three stations and adequate equipment will continue to operate within the Zone
to maintain existing emergency response times.
4. Commit to a minimum staffing level of three person engine companies, an officer in charge,
and an administrative Battalion Chief (which may be shared with the Moraga Fire Protection
District), dedicated to the Zone and maintain personnel in the Zone who are familiar with the
special wildlands fire hazards and road network within the Zone.
5. Commit all current tax revenue and future growth in tax revenues generated in the Zone to
services within the Zone.
6. Commit that personnel assigned to the Zone be EMT certified.
7. Establish an advisory commission comprised of local representatives for the service area Zone,
with representatives to be recommended by the Orinda City Council and appointed by the
Board of Supervisors.
The consolidation, conditioned as outlined immediately above, would permit the benefits of
consolidation to be achieved and would assure adequate fire,protection within the designated Z
one. Without these commitments, we do not believe that the Orinda community will be assured that
the single district consolidation will preserve adequate fire protection, and support for consolidation
would be severely eroded.
During the last ten years the tax revenues generated within the Orinda Fire Protection District have
exceeded the expenditures in the district by over $2,800,000. For the future, we are not seeking to
receive special benefits over and above other parts of a consolidated district. Rather, these conditions
are proposed simply to assure that the consolidation does not result in leaving a high fire hazard area
at greater risk than existed before consolidation. We are certain that your Board has the same goal
and that you will find these conditions consistent with your intent.
Thank you for your continued efforts to assure adequate fire protection. On behalf of the Orinda
City Council, thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Bobbie Landers, Mayo
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