Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District Board of Directors*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
The consolidation of Fire and Emergency Medical System dispatch services at the Santa Cruz Regional 911 center and mutual aid agreements between districts have created an efficient virtual single service district for those services in the entire county. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): "Partially agree" is not permitted, but the Board does partially agree with Finding No. 1. The consolidation of the Fire and Emergency Medical System dispatch services at the Santa Cruz Regional 911 center coupled with mutual aid/automatic aid agreement are major components that have created and efficient virtual single service fire district. However, as mentioned in the Report at , other factors such as continued cooperation amongst Santa Cruz Fire Chiefs via the formation of a Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association and the County EMSIA have also contributed. In addition, there is a long history of California being the national leader in cooperative fire assistance agreements through guidance of FIRESCOPE and Cal OES are also additional components that have helped create a seamless single service delivery. Board vote 5-0 Partially Disagree (Finding 1)
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Shared services between fire districts have improved response times, training, and services across the county. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below Х DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): While Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District agrees that shared service between the districts has improved services, we are not in agreement that this is "county wide". Aptos/La Selva will continue to support increasing shared services where it is financially sound and increases service to our constituents and Santa Cruz County as a whole. Board vote 5-0 Partially Disagree (Finding 2)
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District did not take advantage of the opportunity to pursue consolidation when the Aptos Fire Chief retired in 2014. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below X DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): The opportunity to consolidate or not consolidate fire districts is not dependent on one fire chief retiring. As mentioned in the Report at Pages 6-7, consolidation is a complex issue that must weigh current service efficiencies against future service efficiencies, financial and contractual obligations, not to mention the political differences of opinion such as local control, subsidized services, etc. Board vote 5-0 Disagree (Finding 3)
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District should work together to merge and form a Mid-County Fire Protection District. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE - indicate timeframe below REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS - explain scope and timeframe below (not to exceed six months) X WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED - explain below Response summary, timeframe or explanation: The structure of the recommendation limits our answer to a timeframe of six months. We continue to be open to explore opportunities that are of mutual benefit to all fire districts which may or may not include consolidation. Consolidation, in different forms, has been talked about in Santa Cruz County since the mid 1970's. Several Grand Jury reports and independent studies have addressed consolidation; however for a variety of reasons, consolidation has not occurred. Consolidation is a complex issue that requires political will, labor support and sound financial and contractual solutions. Aptos/La Selva will continue to endeavor to find increased areas of shared services. Board vote 5-0 Will not be implemented (Recommendation 1)
F4
The differences in pay scales and benefits between Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District are issues that must be addressed prior to consolidation. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): As mentioned in the Report at Pages 6-7, consolidation is a complex issue that must weigh current service efficiencies against future service efficiencies, financial and contractual obligations, not to mention the political differences of opinion such as local control, subsidized services, etc. Board vote 5-0 Agree (Finding 4)
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District should work together to merge and form a Mid-County Fire Protection District. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE - indicate timeframe below REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS - explain scope and timeframe below (not to exceed six months) X WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED - explain below Response summary, timeframe or explanation: The structure of the recommendation limits our answer to a timeframe of six months. We continue to be open to explore opportunities that are of mutual benefit to all fire districts which may or may not include consolidation. Consolidation, in different forms, has been talked about in Santa Cruz County since the mid 1970's. Several Grand Jury reports and independent studies have addressed consolidation; however for a variety of reasons, consolidation has not occurred. Consolidation is a complex issue that requires political will, labor support and sound financial and contractual solutions. Aptos/La Selva will continue to endeavor to find increased areas of shared services. Board vote 5-0 Will not be implemented (Recommendation 1)
F5
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District have a common problem resulting from excessive and unreasonable Public Records Act requests. These requests have negatively impacted the daily administration, budgets and operations of the districts. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): Board vote 5-0 Agree (Finding 5)
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District should create policies for receiving and responding to PRA requests. X HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE - indicate timeframe below REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS - explain scope and timeframe below (not to exceed six months) ___ WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED - explain below Response summary, timeframe or explanation: Board vote 5-0 Has been implemented (Recommendation 3)
F6
The lack of enforced policies and procedures regarding conflicts of interest and board member interactions in district operations, has interfered with the ability of the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District to consider further shared services or consolidation. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): Prior to the issuance of the Grand Jury Report, Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District has adopted a Board Policy Manual that defines board member interactions and a code of conduct. Board vote 5-0 Partially Disagree (Finding 6)
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District should work together to merge and form a Mid-County Fire Protection District. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE - indicate timeframe below REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS - explain scope and timeframe below (not to exceed six months) X WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED - explain below Response summary, timeframe or explanation: The structure of the recommendation limits our answer to a timeframe of six months. We continue to be open to explore opportunities that are of mutual benefit to all fire districts which may or may not include consolidation. Consolidation, in different forms, has been talked about in Santa Cruz County since the mid 1970's. Several Grand Jury reports and independent studies have addressed consolidation; however for a variety of reasons, consolidation has not occurred. Consolidation is a complex issue that requires political will, labor support and sound financial and contractual solutions. Aptos/La Selva will continue to endeavor to find increased areas of shared services. Board vote 5-0 Will not be implemented (Recommendation 1)
F7
The joint Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District Cooperative Fire Prevention Program is successful and could benefit the county if made permanent. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE - explain disputed portion below DISAGREE - explain below Response explanation (required for responses other than "Agree"): "Partially agree" is not permitted, but the Board does partially agree with Finding No. 7. The CPP appears that it could be a benefit to both districts. Board vote 5-0 Partially Disagree (Finding 7)
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The governing bodies of Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District should adopt the three year plan for the Cooperative Fire Prevention Program. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE
No Responses Found 1
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Ben Lomond Fire Protection District
Fire District
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.