7.4. SR 02-06-2012REQUEST FOR ACTION
TO ITEM NUMBER
Ma or and Ci Council 7.4
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
General Business Febru 6, 2012 T. ohn Cunnin ham, Fire Chief
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Fire Service Task Force Cal Portner, Ci Administrator
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Approve the creation of the Fire Service Task Force and appoint two Councillnembers to serve on
aforementioned Task Force.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At the January 9, 2012, work session, staff presented a proposal to create a Fire Service Task Force
("Task Force"). The primary goal of the Task Force is to develop a strategic plan for the Elk River Fire
Department and to lay the foundation for meeting the service needs of the community with respect to
fire/rescue capabilities and code enforcement/fire prevention. A copy of the January 9 memorandum is
attached for your review.
Included in this report is additional information pertaining to the structure of the Task Force, goals and
strategies, and a proposed meeting schedule.
Structure
The intent of the Task Force is to use a collaborative approach to develop the department's strategic plan.
The Task Force will be composed of a core planning team consisting of 10 city-affiliated individuals
(Councilmembers and staff) and an outside fire chief.
Elk Kiver City Council (2)
The City Council is asked to appoint two Councilmembers to serve on the Task Force.
Fire Chief and Finance Director
The fire chief and finance director will serve on the Task Force.
Elk Kiver Police Department
A captain of the Elk River Police Department will serve on the Task Force. Appointment will be made
by the police chief.
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Elk Kiver Fire Department
Four representatives from the Elk River Fire Department will serve on the Task Force. The
appointments will be made based, in part, on years of service, as follows:
• 1-5 years of service
• 6-10 years of service
• 11-20 years of service
• 21+ years of service
Appointment to the Task Force will be by the fire chief. Of those selected to serve on the Task Force, at
least one firefighter will be a current officer (not including the fire chief), an EMT, and a member of the
Technical Rescue Team (one representative can hold multiple titles/positions). This is to ensure
representation of the many facets that make up the Elk River Fire Department.
Outside Fire Chief
To help facilitate discussions and to provide expertise and guidance from outside of the city, an outside
fire chief will be appointed to the Task Force. The fire chief and city administrator have discussed
potential candidates and have agreed to recommend Fire Chief Jerry Streich of the Centennial Fire
District. He has agreed to serve on the Task Force if appointed. Chief Streich has over 23 years of
experience managing teams from various entities such as the U.S. Army, law enforcement, and the fire
service.
City Administrator and Human Resources Kepresentative (ad hoc)
The city administrator and human resources representative will be ad-hoc members of the Task Force.
They will be available in an advisory capacity and will be briefed on a regular basis on issues pertaining to
governance, administration and human resources.
Other Stakeholders and Subcommittees
Staff realizes that there are other stakeholders that might be involved during the strategic planning
process. This includes our contractual city partners, other public safety organizations, and community
members. The Task Force, serving as the planning team, will be in a position to involve other
stakeholders as needed to expand discussions.
There may be instances in which the creation of subcommittees will aid in the planning process. As the
need for subcommittees arise, one Task Force planning member will serve as the chairperson of the
subcommittee. This person will be responsible for reporting back to the entire Task Force.
Goals and Strategies
The purpose of forming the Task Force is to develop a living document that will serve as a foundation to
building the future of the Elk River Fire Department. The focus will be to develop a list of goals and
strategies. Goals will primarily be multi-year in nature and will set the framework for policies and
decisions. Strategies will be tied to the goals and are the means in which to achieve them. The strategies
will be measurable and are the specific projects fox which the department will be accountable.
The ultimate implementation of new goals and strategies will follow normal procedures/practices,
budgetary processes and/or whole Council approval, as required.
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As mentioned in the January 9 memorandum, the department has identified a number of strategic goals
that are tied to the city's vision and action steps, including:
•Evaluate services and service delivery;
•Evaluate/expand command staff positions, duties, responsibilities, and assignments;
•Continue inspections of all commercial and industrial buildings and evaluate options to
increase/expand the number of inspections.
These previously identified goals will provide a starting point for discussion. One specific area of priority
is evaluating the department's current command structure (including position descriptions, roles, and
responsibilities) and staffing levels.
As part of the process, the Task Force will conduct a SWOC (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and
challenges) analysis.
Meetings
The first meeting of the Task Force will be held at 6:30 p.m., on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at Fire
Station #2 (Orono Parkway). Meetings are tentatively scheduled for the first Wednesday of every month
at 6:30 p.m.
One 6-8 hour daytime strategy meeting is anticipated.
Term
The Task Force is ad hoc and no sunset date is established. Upon completing the strategic plan, the Task
Force will bring forth to the City Council a recommendation on how, if at all, the Task Force continues
in the future. It is important that the strategic plan remain a living document and is periodically reviewed
and updated.
Council Updates
The Task Force, through the fire chief, will provide the entire Council with. monthly progress updates.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Any expenditures relating to the Task Force will come from the department's operating budget, including
wages paid for hours worked by firefighters. Any recommendations brought forth that have a budget
impact will follow normal budgetary and administrative procedures.
ATTACHMENTS
^ January 9, 2012, Fire Service Task Force Memorandum
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
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Item # 6.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: T. John Cunningham, Fire Chief
DATE: January 9, 2012
SUBJECT: Fire Service Task Force
Since 1881, the Elk River Fire Department has provided fire protection and emergenry response services
to the Elk River community. Just as the city and many of our surrounding communities have grown over
the past decade; the same is true of the fire department. Today, the depamnent covers 66 square miles and
serves over 35,000 residents in Elk River, Otsego, and Big Lake Township. In 2011, there were 469 calls
for service, a 35% increase over the past decade. The depamnent is run by a full-time fire chief and
responses are handled by thirty-one (31) part-time/on-call firefighters and nine (9) appointed part-
time/on-call command officers (in addition to the fire chief). The department also employs afull-time fire
marshal, fire prevention specialist, and, part-time office assistant. The fire chief is also the city's emergency
manager and safety coordinator.
Strategic Plan
't'hroughout history, America's file service. has been dynamic and constantly evolving to meet the growing
needs of the communities ui which they serve. The fire service has largely been reactive to community and
demographic change. As townships and cities grow, emergency service organizations have to continue to
maintain and sustain services that the public expects.
Strategic planning is an important tool for setting the foundation for the futare, especially during times of
economic uncertainty. City and department leadership realize that difficult choices often have to be made
to ensure that limited financial resources would be used most effectively.
The purpose of establishing the Fire Service Task Force is to begin the strategic planning process in which
we can evaluate the organization and its core services, create a blueprint for the future and develop a plan
to accomplish the new direction and goals.
City Goals and Vision
In 2011, acity-wide visioning session identified a number of action steps for the City of Elk River.. During
the 2012 budget process, the fire depamnent set a number of strategic goals tied to the city's vision and
action steps, a partial list includes:
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GOAL RELATED VISION COMMENTS
STATEMENT GOAL
Evaluate services and service
Evaluate Programs and Evaluate impact of increased call-
volume and personnel responsibilities
delivery Services on service delive and staff.
Match duties and responsibilities to
Evaluate/expand command staff Evaluate Programs and positions and titles; identify
positions, duties, responsibilities Services opportunities for advancement and
and assignments owth
Continue inspections of all
commercial and industrial buildings, Evaluate Programs and
evaluate options to Services
increase/expand number of
ins ections
Fire Service Task Force
The intent of the Fire Service Task Force is to use a collaborative approach to developing the fire department's
strategic plan. For this endeavor to be successful and to provide the best possible opportunity to create a
sustainable document, it is important to create a task force that is representative of the organization and our
primary stakeholders.
Below represents the initial Fire Service Task Force members:
Stakeholder Or aruzation Name
Elk River City Council (2) TDB
TDB
Ci of Elk River - Ci Administrator Calvin P. Portner
Ci of Elk River -Fire Chief T. ohn Cunnin ham
City of Elk River -Fire Department (5) 1-5 Years: Selected by the Fire Chief
G-10 Years: Selected by Fire Chief
11-20 Years: Selected by Fire Chief
21+ Years: Selected by Fire Chief
Member of Technical Rescue Team
Elk River Fire De artment Relief Association 1 Selected b Board of Directors
Elk River Fire & Ambulance Service Coordinator Steve Dittbenner
Ci of Elk River -Finance Director Timoth Simon
Ci of Elk River -Police De amnent Brad Rolfe or des' ee
Elk River Munici al Utilities Tro Adams or des' ee
Outside Fire Chief Selected by Fire Chief and City
Administrator
The Fire Service Task Force will serve as the planning team for bringing to fruition the strategic plan. Realizing
that there are many other internal and external stakeholders, including the department as a whole, other city
staff, and community members, additional input will be sought during the process.
With the exception of Council representation,. members of the task force will be. selected either by their
organizational affiliation or through appointment. In addition to approving the formation of this standing task
force, Council is asked to appoint two members to the task force. Significant changes in task force structure will
be brought forth to the Council as a whole for consideration.
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Contractual City Participation
As you are aware, the City of Elk River provides contract fire protection for two neighboring communities.
Roughly 50% of the City of Otsego is served by the Elk River Fire Department. Consideration should be given
to include our neighbors, if not at the initial onset possibly in the future. This will provide a platform to discuss
broader issues concerning fire protection for all affected communities and explore opportunities for shared
services.
Term
The goal is to create a working document that can be used to provide guidance for the future. As such, periodic
review is important to evaluate how the document is living up to current realities. Whereas some components
and decisions may be completed in short order, the process will probably take most of the fiscal year to
complete. The task force will remain in place for two-years, with Council appointments being made annually.
Facilitator
The city administrator and fire chief will decide on how best to facilitate discussions and the process. The goal
is to make the process as transparent and unbiased as possible with the focus on doing what is in the best
interest of the community we serve. The task force will include a senior fire service representative from outside
of the department.
At this time, the intent is to conduct this process using internal resources, as available. Grant opportunities may
become available in the future to solicit the assistance of an outside consultant to assist in the process, if the
task force deems that appropriate.
Priorities
While the purpose of the task force is to develop long-term strategic goals and objectives for the department,
the goals identified during the 2012 budget planning process are intended to serve as a starting point for
discussion and are weighed with priority. For example, evaluating command and leadership positions and
responsibilities, including staffing levels, is a top priority for 2012.
Goal Implementation
The purpose of the task force is to ultimately bring forth new ideas and to identify opportunities for
improvement. The ultimate implementation of new goals and objectives will follow normal
procedures/practices, budgetary processes and/or whole Council approval, as required.
Meetings
At least one meeting per month is anticipated, most likely in the evening. Every attempt will be made to
schedule meetings at the most convenient time for members of the task force, realizing that many have work
and personal cominitrnents. The first meeting will be in February. There is the possibility of at least one
daytime (6-8) hour strategy meeting depending on how things progress.
Financial Impact
There are no direct costs anticipated for this project. Volunteers from within the department will be sought to
participate.
Council Direct i nn
If Council concurs with the creation of a Fire Service Task Force this item will be brought back on a future
agenda for formal adoption.
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