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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Score: +2
(7/4/5)
Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2010-2011
Fighting Fire or
19 pages
⚠️ 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 have not been extracted yet.
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Agency Responses 10
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
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City of Cupertino
August 05, 2011
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1 pages
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No structured response data extracted yet.
View the PDF for full details.
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City of Los Altos
August 23, 2011
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2 pages
• 1 response
•
Score: -1
(+0, 0, -1)
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1 response to findings and recommendations
F1
Dispatch consolidation would result in more cost-effective and efficient emergency response and should be implemented throughout Santa Clara County. Response 1 Respondent (City of Los Altos) agrees with the finding.
Response: Disagree
Score: -1
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. Response 1 Respondent (City of Los Altos) disagrees wholly or partially with the Finding. The Cit...
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City of Milpitas
September 21, 2011
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8 pages
• 1 response
•
Score: -1
(+0, 0, -1)
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1 response to findings and recommendations
F1
In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners.
Response: Disagree
Score: -1
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mixture of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. The Milpitas Fire Department totally disagrees with this finding. Since the early 1960's, the...
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City of Morgan Hill
August 25, 2011
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2 pages
• 2 responses
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Score: 0
(+1, 0, -1)
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2 responses to findings and recommendations
F1
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen town/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS...
Response: Disagree
Score: -1
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen town/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. Disagree. The City of Morgan Hill does concur that fire services are expensive. However, it disagr...
F3
Whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency; using firefighter-paramedics in firefighting equipment as first responders to all non-police emergencies is unnecessarily costly when less expensive paramedics on ambulances possess the skills needed to address the 96% of calls that are not fire related. Agree. The City continues to seek innovative service delivery methods intended to meet call demand in an effi...
Response: Agree
Score: +1
Whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency; using firefighter-paramedics in firefighting equipment as first responders to all non-police emergencies is unnecessarily costly when less expensive paramedics on ambulances possess the skills needed to address the 96% of calls that are not fire related. Agree. The City continues to seek innovative service delivery methods intended to meet call demand in an efficient manner.
Recommendation 3A
All fifteen towns/cities - Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos,...
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City of Mountain View
September 14, 2011
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7 pages
• 3 responses
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Score: 0
(+0, 3, 0)
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3 responses to findings and recommendations
F1
In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow our hiring of pensioners. The City agrees with this finding. The City of Mountain View agrees there are circumstances in which rehiring a retiree minimizes the impact to City operations and services to the community. The City carefully reviews each request to rehire a retiree to ensure that the circumst...
Response: Disagree Partially
Score: 0
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response. The County and 15 towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost-effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. The City partially disagrees with this finding. The City of Mountain View agrees that appropriate staffing l...
F2
For over six years, the City of Santa Clara has filled a previously 24/7-type of management job with a part-time employee. Clearly, the job is not a temporary or limited-time, urgent-needs position and six years is more than sufficient time to find a replacement. This finding is related to the City of Santa Clara practices only (no response from Mountain View).
Response: Disagree Partially
Score: 0
Based on Santa Clara County's fluctuating demand for emergency services, contractually based minimum staffing requirements are not warranted and hinder fire chiefs in effectively managing firefighter staffing to meet time-of-day, day-of-week and season-ofyear demand. This wastes money and may drive station closure as budgets continue to erode. The City partially disagrees with this finding. It is true that calls for emergency services do fluctuate, but it is difficult to predict where and when an emergency response will occur. Because of this, we constantly review our calls for service and how...
R2
The City of Santa Clara should consider consolidating with another agency's fire department for fire services and eliminate the part-time fire chief position, or fill the position with a permanent part-time employee. This recommendation is related to the City of Santa Clara practices only (no response from Mountain View).
Response: Requires Analysis
Score: 0
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) that also have contractual minimum staffing requirements should reopen negotiations with the unions to eliminate this term and any other term that limits a fire chief's ability to "rightsize" staffing given the time of day or time of year. This recommendation requires further analysis. The Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Mountain View and its Firefighters (Local 1965) states that a "minimum staffing level of 21 shall be...
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City of Palo Alto
September 15, 2011
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13 pages
• 2 responses
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Score: +2
(+2, 0, 0)
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2 responses to findings and recommendations
F1
Dispatch Consolidation would result in more cost effective emergency response and should be implemented throughout Santa Clara County. The City agrees with Finding 1.
Response: Agree
Score: +1
: It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. <u>Response</u> The City of Palo Alto agrees and disagrees with this finding. The City recogniz...
R2
Jurisdictions which maintain their own dispatching centers should continue to work with the Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority to achieve countywide standardization of radio technology. The City agrees with Recommendation 2. Police and Fire agencies in Santa Clara County operate on three disparate radio bands, VHF, UHF and 800 MHz. SVRIA is a countywide JPA that seeks to address the problem of voice and data interoperability. SVRIA plans to build a countywide 700 MHz radio system...
Response: Will Implement
Score: +1
: All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) and that also have contractual minimum staffing requirements should reopen negotiations with the unions to eliminate this term and any other term that limits a fire chief's ability to "right-size" staffing given the time of day or time of year. <u>Response</u> The City of Palo Alto agrees with this recommendation and has already proposed elimination of staffing minimums. The City of Palo Alto is currently at impasse in labor negotiat...
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City of San Jose
September 14, 2011
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11 pages
• 12 responses
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Score: +1
(+2, 1, -1)
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12 responses to findings and recommendations
F1
Dispatch consolidation would result in more cost-effective and efficient emergency response and should be implemented throughout Santa Clara County. Response: The CGJ's document does not provide sufficient information, analysis or verified data upon which its broad conclusion can be affirmed. Nonetheless, the city agrees that properly conceived consolidation efforts may lead to savings upon which Santa Clara County cities and the county government could rely.
Response: Disagree
Score: -1
The City of San José disagrees with this finding. The San José Fire Department (SJFD) has been challenged over the past ten years of budget reductions to provide fire and emergency services with fewer emergency responders than are needed to adequately protect a metropolitan city of our population, geographic size, density, level of hazard and assessed value. Additionally, SJFD provides excellent fire protection and emergency medical services to residents and businesses at nearly the lowest cost per capita with the lowest number of Firefighters per resident in the County of Santa Clara. Nationa...
R1A
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should benchmark and observe best practices from communities that have demonstrated successful changes in response protocol and consolidation efforts, such as in San Mateo County, CA; West Jordan, UT; or Scottsdale, Arizona. Response: The City concurs that studying varying service delivery models can be beneficial to fire, rescue and EMS...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
Although it is not clear which benchmarks the Civil Grand Jury is referring to here, this recommendation has been partially implemented. The SJFD has consistently looked for opportunities and evaluated policies and procedures to improve how services are provided to the community. The Department has completed two comprehensive evaluations (benchmarked to national best practices) of the entire City emergency deployment system over the past ten years and submitted several approved recommendations to the Council during that time period. The Department is currently engaged in implementing several m...
R1B
All fifteen towns/cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should determine the emergency response service they want to achieve, particularly as to the result, then determine how best to achieve that. Response: The City has determined and implemented its desired fire service delivery model and operates to provide such to th...
Response: Unknown
Scheduled: Fiscal Year 2011/2012
Score: 0
The recommendation has been partially implemented, but more progress is expected to be accomplished during Fiscal Year 2011/2012. Department employees are committed to serving City residents and businesses in a very dedicated, professional and cost-effective manner. Staff, in partnership with San José Firefighters Local 230, has conducted a comprehensive review of the Department's ability to provide emergency response services as well as address less emergent requests for services. In addition, they are developing an action plan to be implemented during this fiscal year. The evaluation identif...
R1C
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should collaborate with their fire department, union and political leadership to drive fire department change and develop consistent, joint communications messages for the public. Response: The City, for its part, will continue its ongoing efforts with respect to this recommendation.
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City agrees and has partially implemented this recommendation. Relationship building has begun and continues to show great promise and success in terms of developing effective solutions to concerns and problems facing the City. However, some of the remaining issues and potential alternatives may have real and/or perceived impacts on City employees which will challenge sometimes strained relationships. The City, Local 230 and our members are committed to collaboration that will provide great services, achieve cost effectiveness and identify opportunities to provide emergency services at the...
F2
Radio equipment has not been standardized and impedes effective countywide communication and emergency dispatch. Response: A county-wide interoperable radio system is in the planning stages and the Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority (SVRIA) is preparing an RFP for release in late 2011. A project of this magnitude requires significant infrastructure investment funded through sources not yet identified. Until a project funding stream is identified, this project will receive priorit...
Response: Disagree Partially
Score: 0
The City partially agrees with this finding. With the passage of Measure V in 2010, the City Charter now provides the Fire Chief with the discretion to set staffing levels for the Department. The City's current agreement with San José Firefighters Local 230 sets staffing levels on engine and truck companies at four Firefighters through the term of the Memorandum of Agreement, ending June 30, 2013. The Council may provide direction to staff relative to minimum staffing level sections within the agreement if it is determined to be necessary or beneficial to the operation at that time. Civil Gran...
R2
Jurisdictions which maintain their own dispatching centers - Campbell, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, the City of Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale; all jurisdictions which use Santa Clara County Communications for dispatch-Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, and Saratoga; the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office; and Santa Clara County, should continue to work with the Silicon Valley Regional interoperability Association to achieve countyw...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City of San José passed a ballot measure in 2010 providing the City Council with the clear authority to set staffing levels as needed and recommended by the Fire Chief. Staff in collaboration with San José Firefighters Local 230 has conducted a comprehensive review of the Department's ability to provide emergency response services as well as address less emergent requests for services and is developing an implementation action plan to be completed during this fiscal year. The evaluation identified several areas of concern, in need of improvement or in a state of deficiency; and recognized ...
R3A
All fifteen towns/cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should adopt an emergency services department mentality and staff or contract accordingly to meet demand. Response: The City agrees that one of its core functions is emergency response across a multitude of disciplines and has implemented a broad based emergency ser...
Response: Will Implement
Scheduled: Fiscal year 2011/2012
Score: +1
The assumption made here is that the Civil Grand Jury, in suggesting that the County Fire Departments should "adopt an emergency services department mentality" is that Fire Departments should recognize that they provide a broader level of services than just fire protection. The City of San José agrees with this recommendation. Through our history, the Department has continued to improve and evolve the services provided over time and to develop the skills and competencies of our employees in addressing the increasing demands and responsibilities in our City. This year, a comprehensive analysis ...
R3C
In consideration of non-fire emergencies, all cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should modify fire department protocols to authorize, incorporate and use less expensive non- firefighter paramedics and non-firefighting equipment. Response: This recommendation appears to advocate the creation of a separate class of EMS employee to respond only to medical emergencies. This woul...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City has partially implemented this recommendation. The Department utilizes the same highly trained and skilled employees to respond to all types of reported emergencies within the City and through agreements regionally and it is a more cost-effective and efficient approach. The use of existing personnel with added skills, training, and equipment facilitates the ability to provide all-risks emergency services without the costs of additional personnel, resources or other infrastructure.
Subject: Grand Jury Response - "Fighting Fires or Fighting Change?" Page 9 Our Firefighters respond to e...
R3D
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should consider ways to extend the service 6 life of expensive firefighting vehicles by augmenting with ambulance vehicles--either newly purchased as fire apparatus is replaced or in collaboration with the county EMS provider. Response: The City has implemented a number of methodologies to preserve apparatus and often augments EMS calls ...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City of San José agrees with this recommendation and it has already been implemented. The Department currently has a 17 to 20 year replacement cycle for large apparatus and owns and operates six ambulances as well as other smaller utility vehicles to support the Department's mission. Alternative response practices are also being evaluated and implemented to further support this recommendation. Civil Grand Jury
F4
Emergency callers care less about seeing their city/town name on the equipment door than receiving timely assistance when needed, and a wide variety of consolidation opportunities offer cities ways to deliver emergency response services at a reduced cost and without compromising service response times. Response: City agrees that timely assistance, measured at the lower end of minutes, is the most critical element in the provision of life saving emergency medical service measures and that jurisdi...
Response: Agree
Score: +1
The City agrees with this finding. Staff has been in discussions with neighboring fire agencies on a variety of relationship agreements that will improve and enhance services to all communities served. These include boundary drops, enhanced automatic aid, the potential for sharing and contracting new services, other regional fire and EMS delivery options and department consolidations. Civil Grand Jury
R4A
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should evaluate and implement cost-saving consolidations, including administration consolidation, boundary drop, department or regional consolidation, purchasing, personnel training and equipment maintenance. Response: The Gilroy Fire Department has previously participated in consolidation studies for the South County region and where pr...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City of San José agrees with this recommendation. However, its full implementation depends on the willingness and ability of County agencies to collaborate and agree on mutually beneficial relationships. Department Staff has been in discussions with neighboring fire agencies on a variety of relationship agreements that will improve and enhance services to all communities served. These include boundary drops, enhanced automatic aid, the potential for sharing and contracting new services, other regional fire and EMS delivery options and department consolidations. Civil Grand Jury
R4B
All cities that manage their own fire department-Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale-and the County (for CCFD and SCFD) should consider adopting a vehicle fleet management approach by establishing a county-wide standard for vehicles and equipment, consolidating purchases to take advantage of lowered costs, and consolidating maintenance or revisiting guaranteed maintenance contracts on new vehicle purchases. The various county fire departments currently sh...
Response: Unknown
Score: 0
The City of San José agrees with this recommendation. However, its full implementation depends on the willingness and ability of County agencies to collaborate and agree on mutually beneficial relationships. Department Staff has been in discussions with neighboring fire agencies on a variety of relationship agreements that will improve and enhance services to all communities served. These include boundary drops, enhanced automatic aid, the potential for sharing and contracting new services, other regional fire and EMS delivery options and department consolidations. /s/ WILLIAM MCDONALD, Fire C...
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City of Santa Clara
August 31, 2011
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6 pages
• 1 response
•
Score: +1
(+1, 0, 0)
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1 response to findings and recommendations
F1
1. The respondent agrees with the finding. 2. The respondent disagrees wholly or partially with the finding, in which case the response shall specify the portion of the finding that is disputed and shall include an explanation of the reasons thereafter.
Response: Agree
Score: +1
The City agrees with the finding. It is costly to equip a fire department but, as with any first line of defense, emergency workers must be trained and available in order to prevent losses that could exceed the cost of providing emergency services. Paid fire departments came into existence because of the inability of volunteer departments to protect growing communities and their assets. The Santa Clara Fire Department has undergone many substantial changes in order to better serve the public and preserve limited financial resources. Recent changes include reduced staffing, and updated automati...
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City of Saratoga
August 31, 2011
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2 pages
• 2 responses
•
Score: 0
(+1, 0, -1)
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2 responses to findings and recommendations
F1
In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions.
Response: Disagree
Score: -1
It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. The City disagrees based on lack of information to make a determination on this finding for fire ...
F3
The fifteen towns and cities—Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County may be inadvertently creating a demand to rehire pensioners because the public sector retirement age is relatively young at 50 (police and fire) or 55 (administrative positions). The City agrees. The City has been working with its employee groups to explore options for increasing t...
Response: Agree
Score: +1
Whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency; using firefighter-paramedics in firefighting equipment as first responders to all non-police emergencies is unnecessarily costly when less expensive paramedics on ambulances possess the skills needed to address the 96% of calls that are not fire related. The City agrees that whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency. The City disagrees with the remainder of the finding...
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Los Altos Hills County Fire District
September 20, 2011
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2 pages
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