San Mateo County Grand Jury • 2011-2012

Coastside Fire Protection District – Going Backward or Forward? Issue | Background | Findings | Conclusions |

Published: December 14, 2011 65 pages

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Findings and Recommendations 12 findings

Prior to contracting fire and emergency services to CAL FIRE in 2008, the CFPD and its predecessors, the HMBFPD and PMFPD, were beset with operational, labor management, morale and legal issues. Employee turnover was high.

Related Recommendations (2)

Hire an independent professional administrator to manage the contract with CAL FIRE so that the Board does not need to be involved in the detailed operation of the department.

In the future, conduct performance audits of its fire and other emergency services as part of the contract renewal process (e.g., every three years) to ensure the level of service it receives from CAL FIRE and the contract price paid are satisfactory and competitive. If such an analysis indicates there are better alternatives to CAL FIRE available, based upon breadth, quality, or cost of service, then the District should consider a change.

The signing of the contract with CAL FIRE was delayed for a year by a lawsuit supported by IAFF Local 2400, in which the named plaintiff is the current CFPD Board president. Two court rulings supported the District’s authority to contract with CAL FIRE for services. A petition for review by the California Supreme Court was denied.

No recommendations for this finding

CAL FIRE has delivered fire and emergency services under contract to the CFPD since June 2008. In July 2011, a number of changes were made in the contract between CFPD and CAL FIRE to establish more comprehensive performance reporting and to better delineate training requirements and fire prevention activities. The changes were embodied in Exhibit E. of the contract.

No recommendations for this finding

CAL FIRE staff reports on performance against the requirements of Exhibit E. quarterly in CFPD Board meetings.

No recommendations for this finding

Despite a difficult transition period in its first 18 months of its contract, CAL FIRE’s performance in support of the CFPD has met—and exceeded--performance standards in 2010 and 2011 in the areas of emergency call response time, staff training on specialized skills, building inspections, review of building plans, fire hydrant inspections, and vegetation management inspections. Also employee turnover has dropped. According to CFPD records, out of 39 full-time-equivalent employees, two employees have left the department in the last 13 months and a total of six in the last two years.

No recommendations for this finding

Although direct comparisons are difficult, given the many changes in staffing levels over the years, it is clear that contracting services to CAL FIRE has saved CFPD money over managing a stand-alone fire department. Savings are derived from lower salary and benefits costs with CAL FIRE, the 72-hour work week utilized by CAL FIRE, which allows it to operate with fewer employees, and from sharing some services with the San Mateo County Fire Department.

No recommendations for this finding

Discussions of whether CFPD would be better off with a stand-alone fire department have been regular occurrences over the last three years at CFPD Board meetings.

No recommendations for this finding

Several fire departments in the County and elsewhere are moving away from stand-alone departments and merging or outsourcing to contain costs and improve performance.13

No recommendations for this finding

In December 2010, the CFPD Board commissioned the TriData Division of the System Planning Corporation to conduct a performance audit of CAL FIRE services and, in part, to address whether the CFPD should return to a locally formed fire department. The resulting TriData Report, which was completed in August 2011, praised the work of 13 2009-2010 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report, City Fire Departments Consolidations / Mergers, http://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2009/fire_dept.pdf 12 CAL FIRE in the District and cited several significant improvements delivered by CAL FIRE. The Report also recommended that the District continue contracting with CAL FIRE for fire and emergency services. The Board passed a resolution saying that some of the Report’s findings were in error without providing specifics.

No recommendations for this finding

F10

At its December 14, 2011 meeting, the CFPD Board voted to “direct counsel to prepare a report for the Board on the process to reestablish a standalone department to provide fire and emergency services within the District at the expiration of the Cal Fire contract on June 30, 2012.” At its January 31, 2012 meeting, the Board approved a professional services contract with a labor law firm to assess reestablishing a standalone fire and emergency services department in the District. In neither meeting was there a discussion of or agreement on what aspects of performance or cost the Board was hoping to improve upon nor was there discussion of the cost of conducting the investigation, aside from the law firm’s hourly rates.

Related Recommendations (3)

Immediately discontinue its investigation of the process necessary to reestablish a stand- alone fire department at the expiration of its current contract with CAL FIRE which ends on June 30, 2012

Complete negotiations with CAL FIRE to extend the contract for three years before the contract expires on June 30, 2012.

The Board should refrain from formally considering whether to reestablish a stand-alone fire department unless substantial and material deficiencies in performance surface. 15

F11

Also during the December 14, 2011 Board meeting, CAL FIRE Unit Chief Ferreira said that the actions of the Board in investigating steps to end the relationship with CAL FIRE and reestablish a stand-alone department would impact employee morale and potentially impact achieving other goals on behalf of the District. Previously the TriData Report (p.18) said that “relations between CFPD and CAL FIRE have been problematic from the start, primarily because some individuals still want the locally formed fire department versus CAL FIRE.”

Related Recommendations (3)

Immediately discontinue its investigation of the process necessary to reestablish a stand- alone fire department at the expiration of its current contract with CAL FIRE which ends on June 30, 2012

Complete negotiations with CAL FIRE to extend the contract for three years before the contract expires on June 30, 2012.

The Board should refrain from formally considering whether to reestablish a stand-alone fire department unless substantial and material deficiencies in performance surface. 15

F12

Local entities contract for CAL FIRE services on a cost plus 11% (for overhead) basis and are not negatively impacted by fiscal problems that the State-funded wild-fire protection services may have. About 150 agencies like the CFPD take advantage of CAL FIRE Cooperative Agreements to streamline their operations in a cost-effective way.14 CAL FIRE operates approximately 575 local government fire stations in California.15 CAL FIRE has not unilaterally withdrawn from any cooperative service agreements elsewhere in the State in the last 30 years and has committed to providing a minimum of one year’s notice prior to ending its service to the CFPD. Conclusions

No recommendations for this finding

Conclusions 11

CL1 Page 14

It is healthy for public agencies to periodically conduct performance audits or compare their performance to similar agencies in other jurisdictions in order to learn best practices and to ensure that the public is deriving optimal value from the services it is paying for. But it is destructive for public agencies to continually seek an alternative to the agency in place without cause. On three occasions the CFPD Board tried to justify replacing its current arrangement with CAL FIRE.
CL2 Page 13

The Grand Jury believes the residents of the CFPD are being well served by CAL FIRE and that CAL FIRE deserves the full support of the CFPD Board, based upon performance, cost effectiveness and flexibility.
CL3 Page 13

The Grand Jury believes that the Board has failed to articulate any reason that justifies the desire to terminate CAL FIRE services. Furthermore, in the course of its investigation, the Grand Jury heard many accusations from CFPD Board members regarding CAL FIRE performance that were unfounded, outdated or of relatively minor significance. 14 Coastside Fire Protection District Annual Community Report, July 2008 – July 2009. http://www.coastsidefire.org/sites/files/shared/files/Annual%20Community%20Report%20092309%20for%20web .pdf 15 CAL FIRE – Fire and Emergency Response. http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/FireandEmergencyResponse.pdf 13
CL4 Page 14

The Grand Jury believes that this criticism, along with repeated discussions of reestablishing a stand-alone department, has served to embolden those few CFPD staff members, who are generally former HMBFD staff members, who have never fully supported the shift to CAL FIRE and served to undermine efforts by CFPD staff to build a cohesive team fully focused on excellence.
CL5 Page 14

Some Board members have suggested that CFPD could get better service from a stand- alone fire department. The Grand Jury found and believes that there is no factual support for such assertions. Many fire departments in the County and elsewhere have been merging to achieve better performance and to contain costs.
CL6 Page 14

Since 2008, when CAL FIRE took over a very troubled department, its performance has evolved and improved. It has complied with performance related obligations established by Exhibit E as recently negotiated, in July of 2011. The Grand Jury believes that the Board should build upon this evolution, not undermine it.
CL7 Page 14

In order to continually improve, rather than undermine, relations with CAL FIRE, the Board should document any concerns and engage in open, honest dialog with CAL FIRE and with the CFPD community.
CL8 Page 14

The Grand Jury agrees with the recommendation of TriData (p.4) that the District would benefit from hiring a professional administrator, for at least three years, to manage the contract with CAL FIRE and to objectively document CAL FIRE performance in achieving or failing to achieve agreed-to standards.
CL9 Page 14

Contracting services to CAL FIRE has contributed to significant improvement in CFPD finances. It is highly unlikely that CFPD could match current cost and performance levels with a stand-alone fire department.
CL10 Page 14

The CFPD Board has hired labor lawyers and launched a year-long investigation into the process necessary to end the relationship with CAL FIRE and reestablish a stand-alone fire department without first determining that CAL FIRE performance is inadequate or its costs are too high. We agree with one CFPD Board member who said that the Board was jumping to address how to break-off with CAL FIRE without thoughtfully analyzing why. The Grand Jury disagrees with Board members who claim the Board is just performing due diligence and collecting data. If this was the case, the December 14, 2011 Board Meeting motion should have been to analyze performance and cost of current service not to “investigate the process for reestablishing a standalone department.” When the Board was dissatisfied with the results of the TriData Performance Audit, it should have focused its efforts on learning how to better perform a performance audit, not jump to investigating the process for reestablishing a stand-alone fire department and ending its contract with CAL FIRE.
CL11 Page 14

There is no likelihood that CAL FIRE would walk away from its contract with the CFPD without one year notice and little likelihood that it would discontinue its contract with the CFPD in any case given its long history of not terminating any such agreements. 14

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Coastside Fire Protection District Fire District