2020-08-18 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Minutes August 18, 2020 Page 6 was false. Everything in the testimony was accurate. He submitted a copy to Chair Yamada through his personal email. He didn't want it to be unfair to all the candidates because there would be so much questions. Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report: Budget: Chief Rosario reported that the 2020-21 budget has no significant update for the County. On Friday, they had to submit budget reduction to the State for 10% EMS cuts for two ambulance. It is very difficult to select what two ambulances would be shut down. It would either be call volume or geographical challenges. The lowest call volume unit is North Kohala. If you remove the North Kohala unit, the next unit would come from Waimea or Medic 14 which is at the hotels. Once tourism starts up again, Medic 14 is never at the station. All those units have to transport either to Kona Hospital or North Hawaii Hospital. That means the unit is out of district at least 2-3 hours. It is a geographical challenge. It's easy to look at on paper, but those communities need service. They continue to champion no cuts to the EMS budget and will continue with that with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Chair Yamada stated that he recently learned from the Chief that funding for EMS comes from the State. The Fire Department mans the ambulance units. The State bills people for services rendered by the Fire Department. The State has been collecting all these monies in the past, and they come back saying they need to impose a 10% budget cut. He believes they should be provided a report showing how much money the State collected all these years vs. how much it costs the Fire Department to man these units. He questioned the 10% budget cut when the State has been experiencing a 20-30% surplus. He wants justification for the 10% cut. These are not funds coming from the County. It's coming out of the State, but the State is getting this by billing all the people who are being serviced by EMS. All these years, there has never been accountability from the State to show whether this program has been profitable or running at a loss. So, before they even consider a 10% cut, how about somebody explaining to them how this has been working all these years. • Alternative Funding and Grants: USFA FEMA Assistance to Fire Fighter's Grant submittal made for equipment for cleaning equipment. Awards and disbursements postponed due to Covid-19. Human Resources Division ✓ Internal Recruitment within Department: Ongoing internal recruitments for Fire Captain, Fire/Hazardous Materials Specialist, AC of Support Services. ✓ Internal Recruitment within the County of Hawaii: Ongoing for Account Clerk. ✓ Open -Competitive Recruitment: Ongoing for Fire Radio Dispatcher I and Fire Fighter Recruit.