According to the article by Sherry Barkas of the
Desert Sun (May, 2016), both Indian Wells and Palm Desert reluctantly renewed
their contract with CalFire. One of the most interesting parts of this
article states, “in the past, cities had to give a year’s notice to cancel a
contract, they now cannot terminate during the contract period without a vote
of the residents.” This was confirmed via phone conversation with Deputy Chief
Patterson of Riverside County Fire (CalFire). He told me that the State
of Ca Government Code states that if a city contract is terminated during the
term of the contract, then they need a majority vote of the people to terminate
the contract. If the contract is not going to be renewed, then they request a
one-year notice. However, it is not required. The city can let the
contract expire. The citizen vote to terminate a contract is an additional cost
to the city. There is a cost to a city to put this on a ballot and
depending on timing, a special election may be required.
At one point, the fees could not be raised during a
contract period, but this is no longer the case. This was a concern for
the City of Palm Desert, who just renewed a 2-year contract. If rates are
raised during a contract period, it is likely due to CalPers raising rates or
legislature approved increases (benefits or retirement rates increase).
However, Deputy Chief Patterson stated that these increases never surpass the
estimate given. The article states, “Fire officials, however, say they can't
raise fees at will; that can only be done when the CA State Legislature and
Gov. Jerry Brown raise pay and/or benefits, such as Cal PERS
retirement, for firefighters.” This means that any increase in CalPers is
in fact passed onto the city. That obligation does not disappear once a
city contracts with CalFire. Deputy Chief Patterson also stated that if costs
are reduced, then that savings is passed onto the city. http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/palm-desert/2016/05/27/palm-desert-indian-wells-contract-renewal-riverside-county-fire-department-cal-fire/84982728/
Temecula
& Menifee
The City of Temecula voted to allow a 1% tax measure
on the November ballot the same night Hemet voted to do the same. The
article is below. It also mentions a big difference between Murrieta, who
maintains their own public safety services, and Temecula; negotiating.
The City of Temecula is unable to negotiate due to contracting out.
Murrieta, on the other hand, is able to negotiate. Meaning, they are able
to come to the table with the unions and ask for wage cuts or wage freezes,
among other things. The City of Menifee will also have a tax measure on
the November ballot. Keep in mind that both cities (Temecula & Menifee)
contract with CalFire. Hemet’s tax is for the purpose of increasing service
levels to pre-recession levels, aiming to combat the increase in
crime and calls for service. The main difference between the contracting
cities and Hemet is that the city management is more intact in those other two
cities than it is here in Hemet. I would not dismiss the arguments I have
heard that gentrification is occurring on a county level. There
seems to be enough evidence to support this as the surrounding
communities are being built-up while our valley remains behind
and depleted. However, we have to look into what the leadership in
this city has and has not been doing for years. I am fully aware
that this argument will not be popular with city management, but one can
stand on Florida Ave and see for themselves. Unfortunately, this is where
I see the potential issue with our tax measure. The council meeting on August
23, 2016 dedicated an agenda item to Measure U. The council is not bound
to allocate those funds to public safety. The citizens are going to have
to pay very close attention to where the money is going. The discussion during
the August 23rd council meeting is on the Save Hemet YouTube channel, if you
would like to check it out for yourself. If the intention of the tax is
for public safety, then we need to make certain that the funds are indeed going
to public safety should the measure pass. http://www.pe.com/articles/city-769312-fire-revenue.html
Tax Measure being proposed in Menifee. - http://www.pe.com/articles/menifee-809162-million-tax.html
Comparison
Populations & Geography – per the 2010 Census Data
Hemet: 78,657, Projected population for 2015 is
83,861. 27.85 square miles
Median income: $ 33,932; poverty rate: 24%
San Jacinto: 44,199, Projected population for 2015 is
46, 951; 25.72 square miles
Median income: $46,714; poverty rate: 19.1%
Number
of Stations and Work Days
Hemet:
Number of HFD Stations: 5 stations - Station 5
on the east end of Hemet (city limits) was recently re-opened with a paramedic
unit only.
Days work/month: 10
San
Jacinto:
Days work/month: 12
With HFD, Hemet owns the stations, equipment and hires
all firefighters and personnel. With CalFire/County, that is not
necessarily the case. In some cases, the state owns the building but the
county owns the equipment. I give an example of this further down.
Total
Cost of Service
Hemet: FY 16/17 $9,461,200. This includes $1,846,700 for CalPers and $650,000 for retiree medical. These numbers have been confirmed by the Finance Director. (average cost per station $1,892,240).
CalFire total budget for
Riverside County: FY 16/17 $103,894,977, 41 stations (average cost per station $2,534,023
– keep in mind that with the average cost for CalFire, some of the stations are
operated by county, but the facility is owned by the state). This data was provided by Deputy Chief Patterson in an email. He states, "The county operates 41 fire stations and our total budget for FY 16/17 is $103, 894, 977.
Keep in mind that a station in San Jacinto was just
very recently re-opened. Station 5 in Hemet was re-opened last
year. However, Station 5 just provides paramedic services.
Number
of Calls
Hemet: over 16,000 for 2015
San Jacinto: 5,634 for all of 2015. Data
taken from the 2015 Annual Report found at the following website: www.rvcfire.org/OURDEPARTMENT/PIOEducation/Documents/2015%20AR.pdf
The population of Hemet is increasing; therefore,
service calls will continue to increase. Increased calls mean wear and
tear on our firefighters and the engines. Per the Firehouse Magazine's
Annual Run Survey, Engine 1 (downtown station) was the 17th busiest in the
nation for 2015. They went on 5,178 calls in 2015. That is an
average of 14.25 calls per day. This is quite high especially when this
data is compared to other cities (population size) and their call volume.
The number of surgeries that firefighters have during
their career and after they retire, may or may not surprise you. More
times than not, they require a couple shoulder and knee surgeries, at
least. If these surgeries have to happen before they retire, then guess
what? We are down a firefighter, which means firefighters are working
overtime. We also have an agreement with the state. This also
means, especially during high fire seasons, that we lose some of our
firefighters for a period of time to assist in fighting fires across the
state. The city is reimbursed for the costs associated with the
state.
Types
of Calls
Hemet
2015 stats:
Fires: 305
Hazmat: 139
Service Calls: 963
False Alarm/Good Intent: 769
Other types/Specialty: 312
EMS/Medical/Traffic: 13,000
San
Jacinto 2015 stats:
Commercial Fires: 3
False Alarms: 259
Hazmat: 19
Medical: 4643
Multi-Family Dwelling Fire: 1
Other Fire: 47
Other Misc: 14
Public Service Assist: 360
Res Fire: 14
Rescue: 0
Standby: 120
Traffic Collision: 857
Vehicle Fire: 25
Wildland Fire: 30
Some
information regarding contracting with CalFire
Facilities: When a city contracts with CalFire for
fire services, the city maintains ownership of the facilities. The city
also maintains the facility unless the city contracts with CalFire to do the
maintenance. Deputy Chief Patterson also gave the following information
regarding Sage and Anza: the medic squad and equipment are owned by the
County. However, the state owns the stations.
Equipment/Engines: The county asks that the engines be
signed over/donated to the county. This way the county can insure the
engines. If the city maintains ownership of the engines, then the city must
insure them. If the county owns the equipment, then they are responsible
for maintaining it. If the city ever wants its equipment back, then the
ownership is transferred back to the city at no cost.
Liability: When a city contracts out, the Work Comp
and liability (accident) shifts to CalFire. The city is no longer
responsible. However, the city is still responsible for any pre-existing
liabilities. Retiree medical costs stay with the city, period.
Firefighters: Sometimes, but not all of the time,
the firefighters are retained and absorbed into the CalFire organization. This
is contingent upon vacancies at that time. The firefighters may have to
work elsewhere, but they are still employed due to being absorbed into the
CalFire organization. Per Deputy Chief Patterson, the Hemet firefighters
would have been absorbed into the CalFire system had Hemet contracted with
CalFire. That was the plan at the time.
Thank you to HFD Chief Scott Brown and CalFire Deputy Chief
Glenn Patterson for their time and providing us with the information.
