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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 10736 ~_ ,: ORDINANCE NO AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL AND SUPERSEDE ORDINANCE NO 10404; REMOVING ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING SERVICES AT MEACHAM AIRPORT FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT; RETURNING ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR FIRE FIGHTING SERVICES AT MEACHAM AIRPORT TO THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT; REAFFIRMING ALL DUTIES AND RESPON- SIBILITIES OF THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT NOT EXPRESSLY MODIFIED HEREIN; PROVIDING THAT NO NEW EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS, CLASSIFICATIONS OR STATUS ARE CREATED OR MODIFIED EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN; PROVIDING FOR THE TRANSITION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND THEIR DUTIES FROM THE FIRE DEPART- MENT TO THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT AND THEIR STATUS THEREAFTER; PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO RESOLVE TRANSITIONAL DIFFICULTIES; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERA- BILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLL- MENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, in previous City ordinances and actions (Ordinance No 4294, effective May 27, 1960; Ordinance No. 7222, effective September 8, 1975; and Ordinance No 8840, effective June 7, 1983) the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, provided that the Aviation Department should have the duty and responsi- bility of management and the operation of the City's airport systems, including the exclusive responsibility for aircraft crash, rescue and fire fighting operations at Fort Worth Meacham Airport; and WHEREAS, pursuant to said Ordinances, a specialized fire- fighting service commonly known as an "Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting" ("ARFF") staff was created and has been continuously maintained at Meacham Airport for these purposes; and WHEREAS, on September 22, 1989, the Council adopted Ordinance No 10404 to authorize the consolidation of all fire r fighting related services within the City, more specifically to consolidate the said Meacham Airport operations into the City's Fire Department; and WHEREAS, said ordinance and intended consolidation were expressly made contingent and conditioned upon the occurrence of many events, the most relevant being that said transition would not result iri any layoff, termination or other adverse effect in the employment status of the Meacham ARFF personnel; and WHEREAS, litigation was instituted against the City in an effort to enjoin completion of the objectives and purposes expressed in Ordinance No. 10404; and WHEREAS, it is the express desire of the City Council to remain consistent with its previously expressed intent to pre- serve the employment status of the Meacham ARFF personnel; and further, to avoid the potential risks and liability presented if forced to staff the Meacham Airport emergency facilities with personnel who are not properly certified and experienced in air- craft crash, rescue and firefighting skills; and further to avoid the protracted and expensive litigation anticipated in defending the City's position in said litigation; and WHEREAS, at all times it has been the desire and intent of the City Council to provide the City of Fort Worth and its visitors with the safest, most effective, efficient and economi- cal fire protection and suppression services that are reasonably possible; 2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION I City Ordinance No 10404 is hereby repealed and declared to be null, void and of no further effect; and this ordinance shall take the place thereof SECTION II The City of Fort Worth hereby abolishes all of the present powers and duties of the Fire Department which relate to aircraft crash, rescue and fire fighting operations on or related to Fort Worth Meacham Airport and specifically the ARFF Unit and its structures and equipment All management powers and duties con- cerning the aircraft crash, rescue and fire fighting operations presently existing or hereafter becoming necessary on or related to Fort Worth Meacham Airport, including but not limited to the ARFF Unit, its structures and equipment, be and are hereby trans- ferred to and shall hereafter be under the exclusive management and control of the Aviation Department All employees previously assigned to the Fire Department as Meacham ARFF personnel shall hereafter be personnel assigned to the Aviation Department The reorganization and transfer of activities as well as the related financial matters provided for by this ordinance shall take effect as of the effective date of this ordinance, and all City departments and personnel involved shall work in mutual coopera- Lion with each other during the transition period to effectuate the purposes and intent of this ordinance in an orderly and effi- dent manner. 3 SECTION III It is the express intent of the City Council and the Council hereby finds that this ordinance is necessary to promote and main- tain the safety, peace, health, good government and welfare of the citizens of, and visitors to, the City of Fort Worth, Texas; to provide for the best, most efficient, and economical perfor- mance of the functions thereof; and to promote the safety and security of all persons using City airfields and their facilities. This ordinance is to be liberally construed to effectuate said findings and expressed intent, and the principles and goals set forth herein. SECTION IV. Except as expressly amended by this ordinance, the powers and duties of the Aviation Department and the Fire Department shall remain unchanged. All previous ordinances and City Code sections relating to the powers and duties of the Aviation Department and the Fire Department which are not expressly abolished or modified by this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION v All buildings, facilities and equipment presently located on Meacham Airport which are assigned to or utilized by the ARFF for emergencies and related purposes are hereby reassigned and shall be under the management and control of the Aviation Department The Meacham Airport Fire Station building shall hereafter be operated solely as an Aviation Department Station A complete inventory of said facilities and equipment shall be completed as 4 soon as is reasonably possible and shall be presented to the City Manager for use in effectuating the purposes expressed herein SECTION VI All employees assigned to the Fire Department as ARFF per- sonnel at Meacham Airport pursuant to Ordinance No 10404 are hereby removed from the management and control of the Fire Department and are transferred and reassigned to the management, control and command of the Aviation Department. The status of these employees in all other respects shall remain the same; specifically they shall remain civilian employees of the City of Fort Worth subject to the Personnel Rules and Regulations of the City. Their employment compensation and benefits shall also comply with the City's Personnel Rules and Regulations and be regulated thereby SECTION VII. The City Council recognizes that administrative difficulties may arise during said transition. If such difficulties arise with regard to the status, duties, compensation or other matters concerning the affected City employees, then the following guide- lines shall be used to resolve such difficulties: 1) The scope and intent of this ordinance is only that which is expressed herein; 2) The reorganization of powers and duties expressed herein is not intended to and shall not operate to create any new changes in employee status other than as expressly stated herein Specifically, unless expressed herein, this ordinance shall not operate, by implication or otherwise, to create any new employment positions or classifications, whether civil service or non-civil service; nor to create any new promotional opportunities, whether civil service or non-civil service; nor to terminate any positions presently in effect, whether civil service or non-civil service 5 3) Unless expressed herein, this ordinance shall not operate, by implication or otherwise, to create or expand the scope of any type of employment rights or status, whether civil service or non-civil service. This ordinance is not an employment contract SECTION VIII If any conflict of jurisdiction arises between the Aviation Department and Fire Department, or with any other department or employee of the City concerning the provisions or effect of this ordinance, or in regard to any administrative details thereof, the same shall be referred to the City Manager for resolution, and the decision of the City Manager shall be final and binding SECTION IX This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of pre- vious ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event this ordinance shall control and the conflicting provisions of such ot-:her ordinances and Code are hereby repealed. SECTION X "Mayor and Council Communication No.G-$931 ", approved by the City Council on No1ltJ1M,~.t 2~ ~ , 1990, contemporaneously with this ordinance, is expressly incorporated herein by reference as an explanation of the purpose and intent of the Council in adopting this ordinance SECTION XI It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and 6 ..~ :~ s phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise unlawful by the valid judg- meat or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such uncon- stitutionality or illegality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, just as if the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section SECTION XII The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the cap- tion and effective date in the minutes of the City Council and by filing this ordinance in the ordinance records of the City SECTION XIII This ordinance shall take effect from and after December 1, 1990, and it is so ordained APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: Ci Attorney '~ /l~, ~J~fN Date • ~dl~tow~~JZ7, 1 ~ ~t~ ADOPTED : ~/~~ /" 9 D EFFECTIVE: /'~_~ ~ _ ~O 7 rar,es~e-~ ~i~~•~ d`GC~fYUNTiNG ~ ~at~ ®f ' 1F®~°t ~®~°th, ~~.~~~ TgANRPpRTATIO'nfPU6LIC .WORO(S.it /~ // /~ ~/J/~-~ ~~]//7// ln,/-~-, ~ /~ /~ //7//J N e~fER AbMINISIRATiON ~~/((~/®// 1L~(/(/~lF/lV ~1.J®(V1V~~l/~lV ~®~~~u ~'~`"`~^"~"'®~ lA~'~ 1 ~/ DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT REPEAL OF ORDINANCE N0. 104 4; PAGE AVIATION•1 NUMBER TRANSFER OF AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND 2 ~.1-,~7-90 G-8931 FIREFIGHTING ACTIVITIES AT MEACHAM '°f- t,ecc HUm~i~~5 R.4 I..N MAfVAGEMENT.'~ER1i1CES.1 THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT; SUPPLEMENTAL r~~ .- BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE TO EFFECTUATE SAME RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council: 1. Repeal Ordinance No. 10404; 2. Adopt the attached supplemental appropriations ordinance; and 3. Adopt the attached ordinance authorizing the transfer of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting activities at Meacham Airport from the Fire Department to the Aviation Department, effective December 1, 1990. DISCUSSION: In City Ordinance No. 10404 (effective September 22, 1989), the City Council authorized the transfer of the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting ("ARFF") activities at Meacham Airport from the Aviation Department into the Fort Worth Fire Department. For many years the City had maintained the specialized ARFF unit at Meacham Airport staffed by civilian (non-civil service) personnel under the direction of the Aviation Department. In Ordinance #10404 (MB~C Reference No. G-8243) as well as the public record of the Council discussions, the Council expressed its desire to begin a consolidation of said duties into the Fire Department. Said transition was expressly made contingent upon the occurrence of many events, most relevant hereto being that said transition would not result in layoffs or termination of employment for the Meacham ARFF personnel, and further that successful completion would have to include achieving the status of civil service employment for those Meacham ARFF personnel. The Council expressly reserved its option to reverse the intended transition and to resume said ARFF activities within the Aviation Department in the event that all said contingencies could -not be successfully accomplished. Shortly after enacting Ordinance 10404, a lawsuit entitled The International Association of Firefighters Local 440 vs. the City of Fort Worth., Cause No. 342_123792-89 was filed against the City by the labor association comprised of civil service status firefighters employed by the City's Fire Department. The suit was brought to enjoin the City's efforts expressed in Ordinance #10404, to have the Court declare said Meacham Field positions must be immediately staffed by Civil Service Firefighters, as well as seeking promotions to those named civil service personnel who were allegedly harmed by the attempted transition. E;. ~~_ '~ k ~;`\ DATE NUMSERCE SUBJECT REPEAL OF ORDINANCE N0. 10404; PAGE 11-27-90 G-8931 RANSFER OF AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND 2 oft AIRPORT FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO THE AVIATION DEPARTMENT; SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE TO EFFECTUATE SAME Although the Court has not made a ruling on the contested issues, City Management now recommends repealing Ordinance No. 10404 and its intended purposes. It is believed that continued litigation of the matters involved would be very time consuming as well as costly, whether successful or not. Further, one possible outcome of the litigation is that the City would be forced to layoff without cause the eleven Meacham Airport civilian personnel if the Court were to rule against the City. Attempts to negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement were unsuccessful. Transfer of the Meacham ARFF personnel back under the command of the Aviation Department will not result in the deletion of any civil service positions since the same civilian ~ on-sworn) personnel are being transferred back to Aviation as were originally employed therein .prior to Ordinance 10404. Further, there are no expected expenditures for new facilities or equipment at this time as the equipment presently located at Meacham Airport can be transferred to and utilized by the Aviation Department. Further, the quality, safety and efficiency of operation concerns will not suffer because the same personnel and equipment will be utilized to provide emergency services at Meacham Airport. FINANCING: The 1990-91 Adopted Budget reflects $393,092 and 11.0 authorized positions in the General Fund,, GGO1, Fire Department Center No. 0365030, Division 3-Meacham Field, to provide for aircraft rescue and firefighting activities at Meacham Field. These eleven positions will be transferred back to the Aviation Fund, and the entire appropriation of $393,092 will be disappropriated from the General Fund, GGO1, Fire Department Center No. 0365030., Division 3-Meacham Field, increasing the General Fund Undesignated Fund Balance by $393,092.. The increase in the General Fund balance will be used to increase estimated receipts in the Aviation Fund by $393,092 and support a supplemental appropriation of the same amount to the Aviation Fund, PE40, Center No. 0553010, Meacham Field. All current year expenditures and encumbrances made aga nst these funds while in the Fire Department will be appropriately transferred to the Aviation Department as well. APPROVED BY wA:u CITY COUNCIL 1210404 NOV 2"X 1990 ~~~ SUBMITTED FOR THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE BY b T l 1 B G 61 43 DISPOSITION BY C®IJNCIL. ~.'l~tY ~~~E~~F~eBY erre o ' [] .APPROVED E F OZt WOrth Te ORIGINATING Q OTHER (DESCRIBE) ~ , ,, xQr DEPARTMENT HEAD BOb Terrel 1 b143 ~~ ed Resolution No, b CITY SECRETARY FOR ADDITIONAL INFO RMATION d Resofut~on No..,~U "" t CONTACT Terr Vernfln 7'SD5 e Adap DATE