Rochester Hills Legistar System

A motion was made by Robbins, seconded by Eble, that this matter be

Approved.

Resolved that the Public Safety Committee requests the City Clerk to invite Lt.

Joe Quisenberry, Command Officer of OCSD's NET Program, to attend a City

Council Work Session on March 31, 2004, for the purpose of presenting

information regarding the NET Program;

Further Resolved, that the Clerk is requested to include the minutes that reflected

the Public Comments made by Andrew Roscoe, Youth Representative for the

Public Safety Committee, at a recent City Council Meeting;

Further Resolved, that the Clerk is requested to invite all members of the Public

Safety Committee to the March 31, 2004 City Council Work Session.

The motion carried by the following vote:

2a., b. The definitions for the abbreviations are as follows:

* E - engine

* T - arial truck

* R - heavy rescue

* S - squad

* U - utility

* Bravo Unit - ambulance

* BLS - basic life support

* ALS - advance life support (can begin intravenous drugs if necessary)

3a. The five requests to Auburn Hills, which fall under mutual aid, were because the

Rochester Hills paramedics were on ALS calls somewhere else in the city. Rochester

Hills receives a high percentage of multiple calls back-to-back which tax the system.

The transporting agent has to bill the resident by law.

3b., c., d. - Oakland Township will be able to provide ALS assistance by November,

2004. Shelby Township is called upon if it pertains to the east side of Rochester Hills.

4. Typically if equipment remains unattended on the scene of an incident, which is not

that often, it is due to an ALS call for a cardiac arrest. It usually takes three (3) to four

(4) paramedics to travel in the ambulance when a cardiac arrest is involved. But the

average scenario is one (1) paramedic per ambulance run.

A fire engine follows an ambulance to the hospital on an ALS call to allow the paramedic

to travel in the ambulance with the patient. Then, they transfer the drug box back to the

fire engine, complete the report and place the fire engine back into service immediately.

5. Council adopted a resolution along with the Fire Department Five Year Plan that

formed a response requirement policy to have an ambulance on the scene in less than

eight (8) minutes. The Fire Department's average ALS response time is eight (8)

minutes, which is exceeded the majority of the time, and within the Oakland County

Medical Control protocols. However, the daytime calls pose more of a challenge than

the nighttime calls because the Fire Department has only eight (8) paid-on-call fire

firefighters for the day shift.

To reduce the average ALS response time to four (4) to six (6) minutes would require

approximately $4 to $5 million dollars for 60-70 full-time fire fighters. During prior budget

talks, it was determined that the Vehicle Fleet Capital Fund could be used for other

purposes than capital purchases. However, if that fund was used to hire additional fire

fighters, it would not only deplete the fund balance for fleet maintenance costs, but

continual funding for salaries would still be needed and the current fire millage is almost

maximized.

In addition, a typical salary for a firefighter is approximately $60,000 per year versus a

basic EMT salary of approximately $30,000 per year. Also, for an ALS cardiac arrest

call, it is not uncommon to be on the scene for 10 to 15 minutes to get the patient

stabilized before going to the hospital.

Using a full-time fire fighter to pull an ambulance during the day time hours when the

Fire Department is short staffed rather than a paid-on-call employee guarantees that the

Fire Department will be able to handle whatever type of calls are received. Typically,

over fifty percent (50%) of the calls received are BLS calls which do not necessitate

paying an employee $60,000 per year to do a $30,000 per year job.

The Fire Department's Emergency Medical Dispatch determines if a call is a BLS or an

ALS status.

Currently, the Oakland County Medical Control Board requires two (2) paramedics to

run an ambulance in Rochester Hills. Chief Walterhouse will be meeting with the

Oakland County Medical Control Board to suggest they change the requirement to one

(1) paramedic which would help alleviate staffing issues for the Fire Department.

The Fire Department has separated the paid-on-call employees into two groups; those

qualified to handle emergency medical calls and those that are qualified to fight fires as

well as handle emergency medical calls. The second paid-on-call group is paid slightly

more per hour due to more training and development.

The Committee discussed the benefits and liabilities of using all full-time staff versus

using full-time staff along with paid-on-call staff.

The decision regarding new city employees not being able to also be paid-on-call

employees was made by the Human Resources Department and the Accounting

Division due to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the manner in which their paid-on-call

hourly rate has to be calculated. Also, there is an issue between the Firefighters union

and the AFSME union. The decisions also prevent employees from being interested in

serving as paid-on-call employees. The consensus of the Committee was to have the

Human Resource Director and the City Accountant attend a future Public Safety

Committee meeting to present the reasons for these decisions.

In order to staff Fire Stations 1, 2 and 4, who are the busiest, with 24 hour coverage, 7

days a week, it would require approximately 12 to 16 full time fire fighters.

The Committee discussed Council Members receiving alpha pages for all Fire

Department calls noting it was the Mayor's decision not to provide that information.

* The job of the Public Safety Committee including the youth representatives, is to make

the public aware of funding needs for fire fighting, emergency medical responses and

police protection.

* While new development is good for the tax base in the community, it does cause an

increase in calls to the Fire Department and consideration should be given to directing

some of those new tax dollars to the Fire Department.

* The current Charter calls for funding Public Safety at a rate of 18,000 residents. The

City now has approximately 70,000 residents. Therefore, additional funding is needed.

* Fire inspectors were trained to drive an ambulance only for emergency situations

(i.e., the Ice Storm of April 2003 and the Black Out of August 2003) in order to provide

addition man power that was needed. Inspectors will continue to perform inspection

jobs on a daily basis.

* The Committee suggested that the Fire Department provide City Council members

with monthly call volume statistics which include the type of fire or medical call that was

received and the equipment used on each call.

* The current lighted signs that identify each Fire Station also provide a necessary

community service incase someone is in need of assistance. The consensus was that

the current signs should be maintained and not replaced with signs that do not

illuminate.

A motion was made by Formanczyk, seconded by Robbins, that this matter be

Approved.

Whereas, it has been brought to the attention of the Public Safety Committee that

there is no current supervisor coverage between the hours of 3:00 AM and 6:00

AM;

Whereas, the initially accepted standards are to provide a supervisor for every

five (5) to seven (7) employees on duty;

Whereas, in light of the potential liability that may occur to the City in the event

the provision is not obtainable during this period of time;

Now Therefore Be It Resolved, that it is the recommendation of the Public Safety

Committee that the Administration include in the Fiscal Year 2005 Budget the

position of Patrol Sergeant for OCSD Rochester Hills Sub Station Cost Center.

The motion carried by the following vote: