2014-02-12 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes February 12, 2014 Page 4 Kawailani Fire Station Replacement: Chief Honda continues to work on this, and DLNR is working on the lease. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that in the event a board loses quorum, the meeting may continue, but there can be no voting. Commissioner Lee exited the meeting at 11:20 a.m. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES UPDATE Ocean Safety Division Meetings Scheduled: Chief Rosario reported that he met with personnel in Kona (about 10) and in Hilo (about 15). Some people sent in written input. There were concerns about manpower and tort liability. He testified at the legislature about tort liability for water safety officers. Tort liability was extended for three years, not indefinitely as they wanted. This deals primarily with the StateÓs coverage which covers Hpuna Beach. OfficersÓ Meeting: Quarterly meetings will be conducted with chief officers. HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Recruitments Internal recruitments within the County: Chief Rosario reported that recruitment continues. Commissioner De Luz asked if mandated positions are shown on the budget. Chief Rosario stated that only EMS has staffing compliance requirements. Chair Taniguchi asked for benchmarks in personnel that show a well-run fire department. It would help to bring in experts to the Finance Department to show they have mandatory compliance issues. Commissioner De Luz stated that HawaiÒi County is unique in that it runs EMS and has a volunteers. He wants the bureaucrats and line personnel to understand the challenges that the fire department has. Chief Rosario stated that the volunteers are a non-funded line item. He likes the idea of bringing in credentialed people. They follow national fire fighters guideline of having four people on the truck. However, when they expanded, they took personnel from other stations. They are trying to get back to four people on the truck. Volunteers are a huge help in the rural districts. Commissioner De Luz stated that as citizens they need to take more responsibility if they want these services in their communities. Chief Rosario stated that regarding Hpuna Beach Park fronting the hotel, it has a tower, but no personnel to staff it. Regarding Dispatch, because of attrition, they want to hire more personnel. Commissioner De Luz suggested they look at national associations for personality assessments for positions; Chief will follow-up. Vice Chair Moku told the Chief that he needs to put more muscle on the human resources department to get more positions filled.