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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-08 Fire Commission Minutes HAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION - MINUTES January 8, 2003 Liquor Control Conference Room Hilo Lagoon Centre Hilo, HI CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Neil Brazier at 10:00 am. ROLL CALL: PRESENT:ALSO PRESENT: Stephen BowlesDudley Akama Neil BrazierLaurie Kaneta Dale FergerstromDarryl Oliveira Natalie Flattes (10:20 am)Martha Rodillas Rudolph HartJoe Whitney Louis Kaoiwi Karen Maedo Laura Ward Terry Wallace A quorum was present. Commissioners were advised by Neil Brazier to raise their hand w First-name basis will be used at all meetings. STATEMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MEETING PROCEEDINGS Commissioner Kaoiwi moved to accept the December 11, 2002, regular session minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wallace and un carried. APPROVAL OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Maedo moved to accept communication numbers 02-118 126. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hart and unanimous CHIEFÓS REPORT Budget: progressing with budget for 2003-2004. Will meet with Finance Director regarding supplemental budget on Friday. Had meeting with Mayor yesterday. There has been $8 million in requests for supplemental budget submitted County- wide. HFD has submitted $4 million of the $8 million. Will re-evaluate the budget. All items are essential in the eyes of the Department. Grants: received formal approval from USFA grant. Granted award of $152,000 with $62,000 of County matching funds. Grant to be used for equipment Î air compressors for West Hawaii; training materials; safety equipment. HFD will continue pursuing grants. Promotions & hiring: effective December 15, 2002, 22 operators were given new assignments around the island, which created a firefighter shortage. There are 34 firefighter vacancies; this opened the door to hiring new personnel. In the process of scheduling an ÐovertimeÑ program to minimize daily shortages. It will be more acceptable for personnel to accommodate their family lives. Firefighter recruit interviews will start early February. Hopefully firefighters will be on staff by March 1. Expedite process; background process; pre-employment medical screening, etc. Working on streamlining the process. Operations division: closed out 14,000 + incidents. During the last 48 hours of year 2002, there were 51 fire incidents related to fire works. Permitting process had some impact on fire works sales and use; not significant enough. Prevention bureau: Richard Kihara retired on December 31, 2002. He will be a temporary hire for 89 days and conduct formal training for his replacement then he will officially retire. Kihara is currently the only qualified person. No one willing to move here and take over the responsibility. Working on getting two others qualified which will require someone moving up in that division through the ranks. Will submit position descriptions to Commission for the next meeting. There were 2284 permits issued for the New Year holiday. Refunds were given to 134 perm lack of fireworks (less than 10% of what was issued.) Training division: idle during holiday month; preparing curriculum for upcoming firefighter recruit training. Volunteer division: fire chiefs meeting set for January 11, 2003, at 10:00 am at the Laupahoehoe fire station. The Commissioners are invited and welcomed to attend. EMS Division: MICT program progressing as scheduled. Anticipating five students to graduate this month and available for use in February. Public Relations: tossing up ideas for EMS week in May. 2 Explanation of Supplemental Budget: Chief Oliveira reported that $50,000 is spent monthly on overtime due to manpower shortage. The supplemental budget is tied into the 5-year strategic plan. Chief Oliveira explained the supplemental budget that was passed out to all Commissioners. A maritime response plan w Urban vs. rural - following US census; identifying the voids. The maps provided define clarity. Program expenditures show an increase in staffing which include one account clerk to assist with payroll. Also included is a systems analyst needed for records management system. HFD has relied on self-appointed experts on computer issues; a true systems analysts would work closely with the Department of Data System. All information stored would be kept in the County system. Three captain positions are for Kalaua fire station. 20 other positions are to increase staffing levels over the next fiscal year. If no stations were constructed next year, there is a need to fill 67 firefighter positions. A realistic number was selected so that proper training could be done. Prevention Division Î $48,000 budgeted to replace two vehicles; unfunded prevention inspector positions will be funded. Auxiliary Services Division Î responsible for equipment and infrastructure; seeking two mechanic positions; one for West Hawaii. Too often vehicles transported to Hilo for repair. Having mechanics will provide better field maintenance. Fire communication center - requesting three additional dispatcher supervisors. This division is currently down to eight dispatchers with a significant amount of overtime. Training and safety division Î would like to develop a formal training division. Seeking one more training officer to assist with the curriculum, training and to help with the development of that division. Volunteer program Î one more captain position is being sought. There are 24 stations which is too much for one person to handle. Appendix section depicts area maps. The maps will be used for location of buildings to better serve the community based on the available resources, covering the population. Chief Oliveira commented that involvement of the rank in the budgetary process has proven positive due to the strategic planning process. Each personÓs expertise and knowledge is important to the departmentÓs growth. There needs to be a measurable standard. There are 15 personnel working on this plan - part of the management team. This includes responsible planning and positive work. The plan will be distributed to all companies. The budget process was explained to personnel; education on both sides is needed - an abundance of requests came in re budget items/needs. The regular budget was amended - program measures. Have not heard from the Mayor regarding 3 supplemental budget. Prior chiefs have not submitted a suppleme County of HawaiÒi is headed down the road of being Ðperformance based.Ñ Commissioner Maedo thanked Martha for submitting the annual repo UNFINISHED BUSINESS Completion of the Fire ChiefÓs evaluation form was discussed. The form will allow a section for ÐcommentsÑ by Commissioners and Fire Chief. It was decided that each CommissionerÓs completed evaluation for discussed with the Chief by Commission Chair Neil Brazier. The give feedback and the Commissioners will be able to give the Chief feedback. The form will be revised to include a section for comments and a rating area for each category. The evaluation will be done in March, which will be the ChiefÓs first anniversary date of employment as Fire Chief. Each Commissioner is personally responsible for their evaluations. Rubrics are important to define what is commented. If thereÓs a grievance later, we have to be able to articulate why this occurred. Commissioner Kaoiwi stated that Chief OliveiraÓs most important plan is his budget and his strategic plan. The Chief needs more than 9 months of work to be evaluated on. It was stressed to wait the full year of employment as Fire Chief to do the evaluation. It was agreed that the evaluation of the Chief will be an aggregate of all nine evaluations. Deputy Corporation Counsel Akama stated that the Rules and Regulations of the Fire Commission do not prescribe that the HFC use a ÐpointÑ system for the evaluation. The purpose for the evaluation is to help the Fire Chief know where he stands with the Commission; let him know how heÓs doing and how he can improve. 4d, the CommissionÓs job is to evaluate the Chief; there is no requirement to give a summary by the numbers. To give the evaluation annually is correct. It does not have to be done at the end of the calendar year; it is logical to do the evaluation at the end of the working year. Compiling the information is not necessary, u It was summarized that each Commissioner will complete the evaluation form individually. Commissioner Fergerstrom stated that discussion amongst the commissioners will be critical in coming together to make a recommendation/report. 4 Deputy Corporation Counsel Akama stated that there may be a problem in tabulating the numbers. Any discrepancy needs to be stated in the report. There is no need to come to a consensus. It was moved by Commissioner Ward to make changes to the form, including a section for comments and suggestions for Commissioners and the Chief, ha with comments and the evaluation be done after the Chief has ser one year (March, 2003). The Motion was seconded by Commissioner Hart and unanimously carried. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget & Finance (Bowles/Hart) Commissioner Bowles stated that progress can be measured in the strategic plan. The Administration is accountable in supporting the Strategic Plan of the Fire Department. Commissioner Bowles did an analysis of the 2001-2002 budget, which came out to $91 million; the actual million - this was confirmed with Finance Director Bill Takaba. that the County doesnÓt do projections. Commissioner Bowles suggested to invite Mayor Kim to the next Fire Commission meeting to discuss the supplemental budget request of the Fire Department. Office Management and Staffing (Fergerstrom/Wallace) None Rules and Policies (Kaoiwi/Flattes) None Public Relations (Ward) None NEW BUSINESS Salary Commission presentation on January 17, 2003, at 1:30 p.m. Civil Service Conference Room @ Aupuni Center. CommissionerÓs Fergerstrom and Ward will be present. Golf tournament subject matter discussion is postponed till February. MICT & EMS program: Commissioner Hart is concerned about the last series of promotions. There were a lot of FEOÓs that became firefighters and causing a shortage of MICTÓs Chief Oliveira commented that the only career advancement the MICTÓs have is to get out of the MICT Division and enter the firefighter division. The Chief wants to create Ðfirefighter/MICTÑ and Ðfirefighter/EMSÑ classes. If the specific duties of an individual are heavier into the EMS category it may put them in the UPW union. There will be thorough research required in the planning phase of how that class can be created. The MICTÓs do well on interviews and can demonstrate skills. They are 5 needed on the EMS side. There needs to be a way to keep them in the MICT Division. Provides a better supervisor. Commissioner Bowles is concerned about losing momentum because of these kinds of promotions. The reason for moving out of the MICT program should not be only a financial reason - some talents are being sacrificed. It was suggested to have more discussions with the State Department of Health (who provides for 50% of the budget) in creating the opportunity to Ðmove up the ladderÑ. They should be provided with the training and skills to coordinate operations on the fire side as well. The biggest stumbling block is going from an EMS environment to pump water for a fire. Cross-training would be ideal. Chief Oliveira stated that there are many options to consider and one needs to be found that works. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is to be held on Wednesday, February 12, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. at the Liquor Control Conference Room, Hilo Lagoon Centre, 101 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HawaiÒi. Set agenda for February 12, 2003, meeting. ChiefÓs evaluation (unfinished business); Salary Commission report (unfinished business). Chief Oliveira may be in Honolulu for arbitration meetings and unavailable on February 12. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 11:40 am SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ MARTHA A. RODILLAS Secretary B&C:Fire Commission:Regular Session Minutes January 8, 2003 LSA/ 6