2008-06-17 Joint 2-A HandoutAdditional Issue Bin Responses
June 17, 2008
Fire Department Issues
~. What is the impact of using Fire Prevention staff in suppression duties?
The community's fire protection and emergency response system is comprised of
four components: manual response force firefighters and paramedics}, built-in
protection sprinklers, alarms}, fire prevention code enforcement}, and community
education. The most effective system is the result of a proper balance of resources
in each area. The Fire Prevention Bureau, which currently includes a division chief,
a captain, a firefighter, two non-sworn code enforcement officers, and a senior
account clerk is responsible for promoting built-in protection, conducting code
enforcement, and providing community education.
The Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for:
• New development analysis
• Building planlsystem review of new buildings
• Fire Code enforcement of all existing buildings
• Fire Code permits
• Fire cause investigationlArson prosecution
• Community Education
• Weed abatement
• Storm water runoff 'inspections
Most of the inspections conducted by the Fire Prevention Bureau are revenue
generating. Consequently, moving two of the three sworn firefighters from fire
prevention to fire suppression duties would result in a decrease in revenue. If the
sworn firefighters were replaced with civilian employees, the costs to the department
would increase by the approximate cost of the new civilian employees assuming na
reduction in sworn personnel through attrition, If the sworn firefighters in fire
prevention were transferred to suppression only as existing suppression personnel
retired, then there would be a long-term savings equal to the difference in the cost of
salary and benef is between the sworn and non-sworn employees. If the sworn
firefighters were not replaced with civilians, inspection fee revenues would decrease
in proportion to the reduced volume of inspections that would have been performed
by the sworn firefighters transferred to suppression duties.
The department is continuing to study the impact of moving a firefighterlinspector
back to the manual suppression force and is analyzing both the costs and service
impacts of such a move. Should this proposal prove viable, it can be implemented
at any time during the year. Both the fire prevention and suppression activities are
important to achieving the goal of community safety.
Provided by staff at the
06.17-DS Joint Meeting
Re: Agenda Item #2-A
2. Is there a more cost-effective method of performing storm water or other plan
review and fre inspection services?
The Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Planning and Building Director, Fire Marshal,
and Building official met to discuss alternative methods of service delivery.
In accordance with state law, the Fire Code is administered and enforced by the Fire
Chief, while the Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, Energy, and Historical
Building Codes are administered and enforced by the Building official. Further,
under State law, the Fire Chief is responsible for the enforcement of all ordinances
pertaining to the following: the prevention of fires; the suppression or extinguishment
of dangerous o~ hazardous fires; the storage, use and handling of hazardous
materials; the installation and maintenance of automatic, manual and other private
fire alarm systems and f re-extinguishing equipment; the maintenance and regulation
of fire escapes; the maintenance of fire protection and the elimination of fire hazards
on land and in buildings, structures, and other properties, including those under
construction; the maintenance of means of egress; and the investigation of the
cause, origin, and circumstances of fire and unauthorized releases of hazardous
materials.
The Building Official is responsible for the enforcement of all ordinances pertaining
to the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair,
equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of
every building or structure. While there is some overlap in the enforcement authority
of the Fire Chief and the Building Official, the enforcement and inspection skills
required to enforce the Fire Code are different than those required to enforce the
California Building Standards Code.
The Public Works Department currently reimburses the Fire Department for the
costs of providing storm water runoff inspections. Public Works has implemented
this arrangement because it is more cost effective to combine storm water runoff
inspections with fire inspections than to perform separate inspections using public
works inspectors. .
3. What is the number of hazardous materials responses?
The AFD responded to ~ 4l hazardous materials incidents in 2001, including
gasoline spills, oil spills, corrosives, oxidizers, and other hazardous or dangerous
substances.
4, How many hours per year is each firefightertrained?
It takes approximately 36o hours to train a firefighter each year.
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5. Do a cost comparison of full staffing versus the cost of callback overtime.
The Fire Department, in consultation with the Finance Department and Human
Resources, will need additional time to conduct a thorough analysis.
fi. Does the City charge false alarm fees for fire alarms?
The City does not currently charge fees for false fire alarms, but such fees are
proposed in the new Master Fee Schedule, which the City Council will consider on
June 17.
7. Provide a breakdown of medical vs. other calls by station.
The following chart provides a breakdown of EMS and other calls by station. The list
of fire calls by type follows. The data is from 2007.
All Calls
Station 1
Station 2
Station 3
Station 4
Station 5
Stations not identified
Tota I
EMS ether Total
161? 436 2053
1245 520 1765
631 190 821
449 248 69l
20S 83 291
454 X471 5945
All Fire„Response,s for 2007
Boat Fire 1
Car Fire 20
Fire in a s#ructure 64
outdoor fire 72
Tota I ~ 57
!n addition, the Fire Department responded to 454 false fire alarms in 2047.
8~ Vllhat is the process for collecting ambulance fees and what is the collection
rate?
When the Fire Department receives a request for medical service, the department
responds with a fire engine or truck and an ambulance. After the Fire Department
delivers medical aid, the patient may or may not be transported to the hospital for
further treatment. The Fire Captain on si#e then provides billing information to the
ambulance crew; that information is then entered into the billing portion of the
department's Patient Care Report ~PCR~, either at the hospital for those patients
who are transported or back at the station for those patients who require no further
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assistance. once the PCR is completed, the bill data is sent electronically to
Toomey and Associates, the Fire Department's bill agency. Toomey then bills the
patient, the patient's insurance, or both if there is a co-pay. The Fire Department's
billing clerk reviews every PCR and confirms that Toomey has initiated the
appropriate bill for each patient. The billing clerk also designs reports to track calls
for service by type of medical complaint and medical procedures .used, and the clerk
confirms the call type in the department's records management system. if a bill is
overdue, Toomey contracts with a collections ,agency to process the claim. Toomey
forwards all payments received to the Finance Department, where they are
deposited into the ambulance billing account.
In reviewing the collection rate for ambulance fees, it is important to note that
statistics on #his issue can be confusing because there are many ways to interpret
data depending on the parameters of the report requested. The percentage
reported by Fire Administration is based on the total amount charged compared to
the actual amount collected. This does not account for the fact that Medicare will
net pay for the total amount billed. The collection rate reported to AFD by its billing
agency was 5~ °la in 2061, excluding Medicare and Medical write-offs. According #o
the department's billing vendor, the collection rate in Oakland is 6~ °/a after adjusting
for Medicare and Medical write-offs, while the actual adjusted collection rate for all
billings is 85°/0. The EMS Division Chief is working with the billing and collection
agency to improve collections. Staff is looking for newer, improved software for
better tracking and rapid billing and is revising the reporting for a mare accurate
assessment of the amount collected compared to the amount collectable due to
payment restrictions set by MedicarelMediCal.
9. Vllhat is the value of overtime or other costs for providing Emergency Medical
Services ~EMS~ transport outside the City?
No overtime is used to provide EMS services outside of Alameda. However, the
cost of staffing an ambulance with two paramedics is $64 per hour. The average
EMS calf to Oakland takes two hours, at a cost of $128.
The direct Toss to the City for providing this mutual aid is the result of uncollected
fees. Collection of ambulance fees from EMS services in Oakland is approximately
17°/a before adjusting for Medicare and Medical write offs. According to the Fire
Department's billing vendor, the collection rate in Oakland is 61% after adjusting for
write offs.
~ ~. UVhat is the status of EMS negotiations?
Negotiations have been in process for approximately two years. Currently, the City
and County are attempting to agree on a bridge contract until a new countywide
contract is implemented in October 2009. There are several issues that the City
wants addressed in the bridge contract, such as the frequency of mu#ual aid with the
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ambulance provider, AMR, in Oakland. The City and County are also negotiatin
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over the fees the County would assess the City.
~1.What is ratio of EMS mutual aid between AFD and AMR?
In 2001, the AFD responded to Oakland 12 times for every response by AMR to
Alameda. AFD's ambulances responded to Oakland 2l3 times, while AMR, the
ambulance provider in Oakland, responded to Alameda 23 times durin the same
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period. This data excludes both canceled calls and psychiatric calls. However,
during the first quarter of 2ooS, the Fire Department's data indicate there has been a
six to one ratio of responses into Oakland. This ratio has not been adjusted for
canceled and psychiatric calls.
12. How can EMS revenues be enhanced?
The following measures are being taken to enhance EMS revenue.
• Adopting the new County bundled fees as opposed to the current itemized fees;
the bundled fees will simplify billing and increase billable charges
• Proposed restrictions in the new EMS contract far mutual aid to AMR in aakland
• Proposed adoption of the 24°/o Alameda resident adjustment in lieu of the EMS
District Assessment
• Proposed EMS subscription fee
• Improved collection rate
13.Comment on the feasibility of reassigning chief officers to shift duties.
There are seven chief officers or management personnel in the Fire Department,
including the Fire Chief. Three of the chief officers are already on shift assignments,
although one of the three positions is currently vacant due to ajob-related injury.
only two staff chiefs could be considered for transfer to shift. These are the EMS
Division Chief and the Fire Marshal.
The EMS Division has a number of critical responsibilities, and the chief officer is
responsible for ensuring that the department complies with complex regulations
related to emergency medical services, patient privacy, and quality assurance. As
such, it would be difficult to transfer the chief officer to a shift assignment, even on a
part-time basis. Some of the EMS Division Chief s responsibilities are:
• Contract negotiation, implementation, and management
• Drug controls
• Paramedic credentials and training
• EMS records
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ~HIPAA} and regulatory
compliance
• EMS quality assurance
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• EMS policy review and development
• EMS billing
• AFD health and safety off cer
The Fire Marshal also has a heavy workload and supervises the workload of five
other people. The Fire Marshal is responsible for:
• Managing all Fire Prevention programs and activities
• Meeting with new developers on proposed and approved projects
• Fire investigation
• Radio communications program
• Wildland firefighting
• Fire Code adoption and implementation
• Hazardous materials business plans
• Staff representative to the East Bay Regional Communications System
• Managing the lifelsafety inspection program of 3500 properties
• Manage the State-mandated Storrn Water Inspection Program
• . Coordinate enforcement efforts to provide a high level of service
State law requires that the City's Fire Department maintain a Fire Marshal. There is
already a vacant enforcement position in the Fire Prevention Bureau, and revenues
could be impacted by a further reduction.
The Alameda Fire Department employed a system many years ago in which
management also served as suppression personnel. Reports from both
management and line personnel indicate the previous experience with #his
alternative was not successful since it is very difficult for one person to do two full-
tirnejobs at the same time.
Public Works issues
~, How much money does the City need to invest in the repair of streets,
sidewalks, and other infrastructure in order to eliminate the current backlog?
What is the sta#us of repairing the marked sidewalks?
The Public Works Department is preparing a comprehensive report on the City's
infrastructure needs. The information will be provided in anoff-agenda memo,
2. Please identify the street segments that have a very low Pavement
Management Index 434 or below}. How much do these segments need to be
improved to bring them to an acceptable level?
The Public Works Department is preparing a comprehensive report on the City's
infrastructure needs. The information will be provided in anoff-agenda memo.
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Additional Issues
~. What are the requirements for forming a fire assessment district? UVhat can
such an assessment district fund?
An assessment district is not a separate governmental agency but a defined area of
property specially benefited by certain public improvements. Under California law,
the assessments must be apportioned and levied according to a benefit formula
approved by the legislative body. State law governs the rocess b which benefit
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assessment districts are formed.
California law provides for a number of different types of benefit assessment
districts: Some have unique procedures governing their formation. In 1996
California voters adopted Proposi#ion 218, which established substantial additional
requirements for the imposition of property taxes, including benefit assessments.
The legislation implementing Proposition 21 S the "Pro osition 218 Umni
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Implementation Act ~ made numerous changes to the procedures used to create
benefit assessment districts. One of the key changes was to consolidate the
procedures used to create such districts by expressly overriding other procedural
statutes that conflict with its provisions. {Government Code §65753~a~~
Government Code Section 50018.2 expressly authorizes local agencies to create
benefit assessment districts for fire suppression services. Under the Pro osition 21 S
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omnibus Implementation Act, a local agency may form a benefit assessment district
by taking the following actions:
• causing the preparation of an "assessment engineer's report" that identifies the
properties to be included in the district and establishes the method for assessin
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them;
• adopting a series of resolutions expressing the intent to form a district, a rovin
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the engineer s report, and setting a date for public hearing;
• mailing notice of the public hearing to property owners within the district to ether
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with a ballot on which the property owners may express their su ort or
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opposition to the proposed assessment; and,
• tabulating the ballots to determine whether a "majority protest" exists. Under
Proposition 2~ S and its implementing legislation, the legislative body ma not
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impose the assessment if a majority protest exists.
Afire assessment district can fund the purchase, operation, and maintenance of fire
suppression equipment or apparatus. It can also be used to pay for the salaries and
benefits of fire suppression personnel.
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