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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Bill 3.L 08/02/2010`~ A L`U IggB DATE: August 2,;2010 ~l~Ite~vw#3.L TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the :City Council through City Manager FROM: Larry B. Anderson, Fire Chief SUBJECT: Resolution Accepting a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (.SAFER) Grant in the Amount of $1,230,180 to Hire Six Firefighter-Paramedics for 241VIonths, and Authorizing the City Manager to Sign all Grant Compliance Agreements R>ECOIVIlVl(ENDAT'IOl~I Itis recommended that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution Accepting a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate.:Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant in the Amount of $1,230,1.80 to Hire 'Six Firefighter-Paramedics for 24 months, and Authorizing the. City Manager to Sign All Grant;Compliance Agreements: BACKGiZ®>1JND On June 25, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the City of Petaluma Fire Department's grant application submitted under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program. FEMA'~s Grant Pro"grams. Directorate, in consultation with the U.S. Fire Administration, carries out the Federal responsbi'lities of administering the SAFER grant. The grant is approved for $1.,230,180. 'The Period of Performance begins on September 24, 2010, and ends on September 23, 2012: 1DISCIJSSIOIV Over the.ast two budget periods, during.-which the City has dealt with declining:revenues. and. theresulting significant budget impacts, atotal of six firefighter-paramedic vacancies were frozen inahe. F-ire Department, effectively reducing department staffing. to 42 funded line level positions. "The SAFER Grarit enables the City to restore these positions and to return the staffing level to 48. The Cify;normally staffs the Fire Department with 481ne firefighter positions. These are distributed across three''shifts for a total of 16 firefighters on duty each 24.hour period. This staffing. pattern supports the minimum daily/shift demand for the deployment of two fire engines, one aerial ladder` truck, two advanced life support-paramedic ambulances and one Agenda Review: Dept. Director City Attorney Finance Director~_ City Manager battalion commanderresulting in 14 firefighters and a supervisor to deliver emergency services. This deployment>model is consistent with the recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 Standard for taffing and. deployment. The NFPA recommended standard is that a municipal~fire department be capable of placing 14 firefighters and one incident commander (15 personnel) at .the scene of ~a basic single family residential structure fire with only one room of fire involvement. The basis of the FEMA SAFER grant and the basis for which the City of Petaluma was approved funding, is to be capable of achieving the minimum staffing recommendation in the NFPA standard. FINANCIAL, IMPAC'T'S Total Cost of Proposal or Project:.. $1..,230,180 Amount. Budgeted: $ Name of Account: Account Number: Current Account Balance: Funding for this Grant will ,occur in two City of Petaluma Fiscal Budget Periods (2010-2011, 2011-2012), and it allows :for two.. step .increases that will accur per contractual agreement. 24 Month Performance Period: Begins - September 24, 2010 Ends - September 23, 2012 The amount of funding approved by the FEMA SAFER Grant will .cover the cost of six firefighter-paramedic positions for 18 months. The Grarit provides 1'00% of the approved funding ($1,230,180) during this 18 month period, and there is no matching contribution required by the City of Petaluma on this unit of"funding. The dfference'between 18 months of funding .and the 24 month Period of Performance required by FEMA is due to an error in calculating the cost of the firefighter -paramedic positions at the time grant ,application. was made.. The Grant request was underfunded by $209,409 each year for a total of $4.18,818 during the.'24 month Period of Performance. Ths.underfunding occurred due to the utilization of a faulty cost calculator that did not accurately generate the fully loaded cost per employee. A formal request was made`to FEMA to increase the funding. Normally, FEMA has a track record of.approvng,cost increase"s whenever errors are made. However, this request was denied because in this particular grant cycle, there was very high demand aril tight funding in the pre designated ..State by State allotments. The Grant Management Specialist responsible for oversight of'Petaluma's .SAFER. Grant reported that had the original request been for the higher amount, that request. would have "most likely" been denied because there was not enough .available funding at the higher amount. d~ The approved Grant amount. will generate extensive savings over all to the City's General Fund. This will occur because the increased staffing will defer known overtime costs associated with meeting minimum staffing levels. It is important to note that minimum staffing, levels have increased in 2010-2011 as a result of the expiration of the Side: Letter of Agreement with Unit 7 that reduced the City's minimum~staffing requirementforFY 2009-2010. Receipt of the $1,230,.18:0 will save the City $1;572,622 in overtime expenditures over the two year, 24 month period as depicted below: 24 Month Cost of Six FireFighter -Paramedics $1,648,998 SAFER Grant Funding -$1,230,180 Total Grant Underfunding $418,818 Estimated Overtime Cost Deferred due to Staffing Increase 1St Year $995,720 Estimated Overtime Cost Deferred due to Staffing Increase 2°a -Year ~ +$995,720 Total Overtime Savings $1.,991,440 The difference between $41`:8,818 in underfunding will reduce deferred overtime expenditures to $1,572,622. Because not all personnel can be recruited, selected, trained., and start work at the beginning of the Period of Performance; .the savings from any of the six positions remaining vacant will be used to offset the $41.8,818 in underfunding. The remaining funding shortfall is anticipated to be available from overtime savings; as well as through attrition as a result of several anticipated retirements. In addition,, the. Fire Department is currently reviewing. revenue enhancement strategies that will. further reduce the underfunding during the term of the Grant and beyond. Any viable options will be presented to Council during the first quarter financial review this Fall. ATTACI~MENTS Resolution Accepting a Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing for Adequate .Fire and Emergency Response Grant in the Amounf of $1;230,1.80 to Hire Six -Firefighter-Paramedics for Twenty-Four Months, and Authorizing the City Manager to Sign All Grant Compliance Agreements 3 ATTACHMENT 1 RESOI..>(JTION ACCEPT~IG A FEDERAL EI~ItGENCY 1VIANAGEIVIEN~' AGENCY (FEIVIA) STAFFING FOR AI~EQIJATE FIRE .A1VID EIVIERGENCY RESP®NSE (SAFER) G><tAN~ IN T>ETIE AIVI®>(J1vT OF $1;230,10 'TO HIS SIX &'I~'IGI~TER- PARAlVIEI)ICS FOR TV6~EN~'Y-FOI<JR 1VIONTY~S, AND AiJTHORIZING T CITY iVIANAGER ~'® SIGN ALL GRAN')c C.®1VdPLIANCE AGREEIVIEN'I'S WHEREAS, for the last. several years, the Petaluma Fire Department has been staffed with 48 f refighter positions, and; WHEREAS, in order to address declining revenues and significant budget impacts over the last two budget periods, Petaluma Fire Department staff ng was reduced by six firefighter- paramedics resulting in a total of 42 funded positions, and; 'WHEREAS, on June 25, 2010, the Department. of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the City of Petaluma Fire Department's grant application submitted under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program, and; WHEREAS, the Period of Performance begins on September 24, 20..10, and ends on September 23, 2012, and; WHEREAS, the grant' is approved for $1,230,.180 and enables the City to restore six positions and return staffing levels to 48 positions, and; NOW, ~'HERE)FORE; BE IT RES®LVEID, that the City Council of the City of Petaluma hereby accept the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant in the amount of'$1,230,180 to hire six Firefighter- .Paramedics: for twenty=four months, and authorize the City Manager to sign all grant compliance agreements.