2016-03-01 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 1, 2016 Page 2 DISCUSSION ON FIRE CHIEF'S WRITTEN REPORT Fire Chief Rosario and his staff Deputy Chief Renwick Victorino, Assistant Chief Glenn Honda, Assistant Chief Gantry Andrade, Battalion Chief Kazuo Todd, and Accountant Melanio Lorenzo introduced themselves. Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report: • Budget and Finance: At the last meeting, he reported on equipment that was cut from the budget and requested the commission's assistance in reinstating the equipment. Since the last meeting, he discussed this with the Mayor and now withdraws his request for assistance to have the items reinstated. He explained the lease/purchase procedure and the remount program for EMS vehicles. Accountant Lorenzo explained the budget summary. They expect a shortfall in salaries and wages. The County has a provision for unexpected expenses. They are projecting a balance at the end of the fiscal year. However, any disaster could affect this. Vice Chair Becker asked how they could spend remaining money with about two more weeks in the fiscal year. Mr. Lorenzo stated that purchases have to go out to bid and it would not work in two weeks. Chief Rosario stated that they could start early on a bid for equipment, get it approved, but then Finance could cancel it, like it did recently. The County works on a system where they all work together. An example is when Parks & Recreation had to do ADA retrofits, money was used for that. Spending is for critical needs. They do not spend on "nice to have" items. Chief Rosario further reported that all their supplemental budget requests for FY 2016-17 were denied at the first meeting. They will have another review in May. They were told that the things look bleak. It's unlikely that they will get the SAFER Grants. Alternative Funding and Grants ✓ 2014 AFG Operations Grant: Training for the driver simulator continues. ✓ 2015 CDBG Grant: The Pahoa brush truck apparatus will be delivered in July. ✓ 2016 CDBG Grant: An application was submitted for a wildland pumper apparatus for the Pahala station. • Human Resources Division: An Account Clerk was selected. The Water Safety Officer I performance assessment is scheduled for April. Promotions for Battalion Chiefs were made. Assessments will be conducted for Prevention Specialist I and Rescue Specialist. Grievance filed by a Fire Rescue Specialist for overtime loss is currently at Step 2. • Emergency Operations Division ✓ Operations: They continue to support incident action plans for the Dengue outbreak. Numerous brush fires occurred in East and West Hawaii. Evidence from fires on Highway 190 was turned over to the police. Four fire companies responded to a structure fire at Domino's in Hilo. There were many neighboring businesses, and the estimated save was $2 million.