Agenda Item # 9(a)

Meeting Date: November 28, 2005

CITY OF SAN CARLOS

CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT

Date: November 23, 2005

To: Mark Weiss, City Manager

From: Brian Moura, Assistant City Manager

Subject: Discussion and Adoption of Detailed Proposal Criteria for Fire Service Options for San Carlos

Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and take action on the detailed proposal criteria for Fire Services in San Carlos in the coming fiscal year. This will enable the City Staff to continue their work to develop options for the Council’s consideration next February.

Budget Impact
Approval of the recommendations in this Council Staff Report by themselves will have no impact on the City Budget. However, the ultimate action taken by the City Council on the matter of how Fire Services will be provided in San Carlos in the next fiscal year will have a major impact on the General Fund Budget. Fire Department costs constitute the second largest expense item (21%) of the General Fund. Council action in this area could significantly increase or decrease expenses in this budget in the coming year.

Background
The City Council held two meetings during the month of October to discuss Fire Service Options for San Carlos in the coming fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2006.

At the October 12, 2005 Special Meeting, the Council heard a detailed presentation by the City Staff on the background of the City’s Fire Services and the proposals for service submitted by the 4 neighboring Fire Agencies. This was followed up at the following Council meeting on October 24, 2005 with a report on the schedule of key events and an outline of the 3 scenarios for detailed proposals that will be discussed in detail tonight.

Copies of the Council Staff Reports for these two discussions as well as videos of both discussions and the 7 earlier reports to Council on the Fire Service Options for San Carlos process are available on the City Web Site.

Developments Since The Last City Council Meeting
Since the City Council Meeting held on October 24th, the City Staff has continued work on the Fire Services project. Meetings and discussions were held with several key players in this process including the City Manager, Fire Chief, the Council Ad Hoc Committee on Fire Services and the Interim City Manager of Belmont. Of particular note were the following events during that period:

• A meeting with representatives of the Fire Management Group at South County Fire Authority. They offered their views on the options available to San Carlos and are working with the Fire Chief to develop information on South County Fire Authority operations that will assist in this process.
• A meeting with the staff members and attorneys from San Carlos, Belmont and South County Fire that are working on items relating to the wrap-up of South County Fire Authority at the end of June. That process continues on track with wrap-up cost estimates and a list of wrap-up items expected in December.
• A discussion with Doug Sporleder, the Interim Fire Chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District last week. During that discussion, Chief Sporleder informed us that Menlo Park has decided to withdraw from this process in both cities.
• A meeting with the San Mateo County City Managers Association regarding the Countywide Hazardous Materials Team and the difference between Hazardous Materials Team costs and the amount reimbursed each year.
• A detailed briefing on the South County Fire Fighters letter dated October 12, 2005 and their subsequent update of their Hybrid Contract Proposal for Fire Services in San Carlos and Belmont.

Staff plans to continue to work with these individuals as the review of the Fire Services options for San Carlos moves forward. We are now 11 months into the 18 month timeline of this project and will work to insure that it stays on track.

Approach For Detailed Proposals
The focus of tonight’s discussion and action by the City Council is the criteria to be provided to the 3 neighboring Fire Agencies. These 3 detailed scenarios will assist the agencies in refining their current proposals and are based on the level of Fire Services discussed with the Council at their October 12, 2005 meeting. The key components of these detailed scenarios are as follows:

• 2 Engine Companies with Paramedic Service (one per station) or 1 Engine Company and 1 Truck Company
• Truck Company Service (based on actual calls or 25% of a percent of agency’s truck service) or 1 Truck Company
• Fire Marshall & Fire Inspection Services (includes inspections, plan check & prevention)
• Fire Management and Clerical staffing
• Emergency Medical Services Officer and Training Officer
• Facility Maintenance
• Fire Apparatus and Vehicle Maintenance
• Human Resources and Finance

For comparison purposes, here is how South County Fire Authority Services are provided today:

Current Configuration – South County Fire Authority

The proposed fire service scenarios for San Carlos are as follows:

Scenario 1 – Contract for Fire Services with San Carlos only
(San Carlos & Belmont select different agencies to Provide Contract Fire Services.)

Service	Description	Provider/Employer
Fire Chief	Shared Fire Chief	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Management	Shared Battalion Chiefs	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Marshal	Shared Fire Marshal	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Inspector	Fire Inspector	Contract – Fire Agency
F.S. # 13 ( Laurel St .)	Engine Company w/Paramedic	Contract – Fire Agency
F.S. # 16 ( Alameda )	Engine Company w/Paramedic	Contract – Fire Agency
Truck Co. Service	25% of Truck Co. or Per Call	Contract – Fire Agency
Emer. Medical Officer	Shared Emer. Med. Officer	Contract – Fire Agency
Training Officer	Shared Training Officer	Contract – Fire Agency
Clerical Support	Administrative Clerk	Contract – Fire Agency
Facility Maintenance		Contract – Fire Agency
Fire App/Vehicle M		Contract – Fire Agency
Vehicle Replacement		City of San Carlos
Human Resources		Contract – Fire Agency
Finance		Contract – Fire Agency

Scenario 2 – Contract for Fire Services with San Carlos and Belmont
(San Carlos & Belmont select same agency to Provide Contract Fire Services.)

Service	Description	Provider/Employer
Fire Chief	Shared Fire Chief	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Management	Shared Battalion Chiefs	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Marshal	Shared Fire Marshal	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Inspector	Fire Inspector	Contract – Fire Agency
F.S. # 13 ( Laurel St .)	Engine Company w/Paramedic	Contract – Fire Agency
F.S. # 16 ( Alameda )	Engine Company w/Paramedic	Contract – Fire Agency
Truck Co. Service	25% of Truck Co. or Per Call	Contract – Fire Agency
Emer. Medical Officer	Shared Emer. Med. Officer	Contract – Fire Agency
Training Officer	Shared Training Officer	Contract – Fire Agency
Clerical Support	Administrative Clerk	Contract – Fire Agency
Facility Maintenance		Contract – Fire Agency
Fire App/Vehicle M		Contract – Fire Agency
Vehicle Replacement		San Carlos & Belmont
Human Resources		Contract – Fire Agency
Finance		Contract – Fire Agency

Scenario 3 – Contract for Fire Services - San Carlos & Belmont proposed by Firefighters
(San Carlos and Belmont select the same agency to Provide Contract Fire Services. Some functions would be filled by Contract Fire Agency and other functions by South County Fire Authority employees. Human Resources would be done by Contract Fire Agency (Supervision & Evaluation) and San Carlos & Belmont (Hiring, Labor Relations and Workers Compensation.)

Service	Description	Provider/Employer
Fire Chief	Shared Fire Chief	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Management	Shared Battalion Chiefs	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Marshal	Shared Fire Marshal	Contract – Fire Agency
Fire Inspector	Fire Inspector	South County Fire Staff
F.S. # 13 ( Laurel St .)	Engine Company w/Paramedic	South County Fire Staff
F.S. # 16 ( Alameda )	Engine Company w/Paramedic	South County Fire Staff
Truck Co. Service	25% of Truck Co. or Per Call	Contract – SCF, RW, W
Emer. Medical Officer	Shared Emer. Med. Officer	Contract – SCF, RW, W
Training Officer	Shared Training Officer	So.County/Contract Fire
Clerical Support	Administrative Clerk	South County Fire
Facility Maintenance		South County Fire
Fire App/Vehicle M		South County Fire
Vehicle Replacement	Supervision, Evaluation	Contract – Fire Agency
Human Resources	Hire, Labor Rel, Work Comp	South County Fire
Finance	Budget	South County Fire

Updated Schedule of Key Events
After tonight’s Council Meeting, many steps remain in the Fire Service Options in San Carlos process. Here is a review of the schedule of key events. It remains the same as before with one change.

Due to the delay in receiving certified election results from the County Registrar of Voters, it will be necessary for the incoming Mayor and City Council to discuss and make appointments to the South County Fire Authority Board at your next meeting on December 12th. If that is done then the South County Fire Authority will be able to hold their next quarterly meeting on December 14th as planned. If that is not possible, we will need to work with Belmont on rescheduling the next South County Fire Authority Board Meeting to a future date.

Here is the schedule of key events with that change included:

December 12, 2005	Mayor Appoints San Carlos Fire Board Members
December 14, 2005	Quarterly SCFA Fire Board Meeting Held
December 21, 2005	Staff receives SCFA "wrap-up" costs
January 16, 2006	Detailed Proposals Due Back from Agencies
February 13, 2006	Council Review of Proposals & Selection
March 2006	Staff negotiates agreement with selected Agency
March 22, 2006	Quarterly SCFA Fire Board Meeting Held
April 2006	Agreement Executed and Transition Begins
June 28, 2006	Quarterly SCFA Fire Board Meeting Held
July 1, 2006	Fire Service begins with new Fire Provider

Recommend Approval: _________________________